IC-NRLF 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

FROM   THH    LIBR  \f'N     t  'I 

BENJAMIN  PARKE  A  VERY. 


GIFT  OF  MRS.  -\VERY. 

Aiunisl. 


Accessions 


^0.63737 


A 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL  ACCOUNT 


in  tfye 

ALPHABETICALLY  ABKANGED. 


A  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL 

ACCOUNT  OF  THE  RAREST  BOOKS 
IN  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE 

ALPHABETICALLY  ARRANGED 


WHICH   DURING  THE  LAST  FIFTY  YEARS  HAVE  COME   UNDER 
THE  OBSERVATION  OF 


J.    PAYNE    COLLIER  F.S.A. 

IN  FOUR  VOLUMES 
VOL.  I 


NEW   YORK 

DAVID  G.  FRANCIS  506  BROADWAY 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER  &  CO.  124  GRAND  ST. 

1866 


CAMBRIDGE:  FEINTED  BY  H.  o.  HOUGHTON  AND  COMPANY. 


PREFACE. 


DURING  my  whole  life,  now  rapidly  approaching 
fourscore,  I  have  been  a  diligent  reader,  and,  as  far 
as  my  means  would  allow,  a  greedy  purchaser  of  all 
works  connected  with  early  English  literature.  It  is 
nearly  sixty  years  since  I  became  possessor  of  my  first 
really  valuable  old  book  of  this  kind,  —  Wilson's 
"Art  of  Logic,"  printed  by  Richard  Grafton  in  1551, 
—  from  which  I  ascertained  the  not  unimportant  facts 
that  "  Ralph  Roister  Doister  "  was  an  older  play  than 
"  Gammer  Gurton's  Needle,"  and  that  it  had  been 
written  by  Nicholas  Udall,  Master  of  Eton  School. 
I  thus  learned  who  was  the  author  of  the  earliest  com 
edy,  properly  so  called,  in  our  language.  This  was 
my  first  literary  discovery,  made  several  years  an 
terior,  although  I  had  not  occasion  to  render  it  public, 
until  I  printed  my  Notes  upon  "  Dodsley's  Old  Plays  " 
soon  after  1820.  My  latest  discovery,  which  occurred 
only  a  few  months  ago,  is  that  "  Tottel's  Miscellany," 
1557,  the  oldest  and  most  interesting  in  our  language, 
containing  as  it  does  the  poems  of  the  Earl  of  Surrey, 
Sir  Thomas  Wyat,  and  their  contemporaries,  has 
always,  during  the  last  three  centuries,  been  reprinted, 


v 

by  Dr.  Sewell,  Bishop  Percy,  Dr.  Nott,  and  their  fol 
lowers,  from  the  second  instead  of  the  first  edition. 
The  differences  between  the  two  are  not  merely  ex 
tremely  curious,  but  very  interesting  and  important. 

Between  the  one  discovery  and  the  other  there  was 
an  interval  of  perhaps  fifty  years ;  and  whatever  may 
appear  to  be  new  in  the  ensuing  volumes  has  been  the 
result  of  literary  investigation  during  considerably 
more  than  that  period.  My  early  employments  were 
irksome  and  wearisome ;  but,  stimulated  in  some  de 
gree  by  my  first  success,  and  by  my  love  for  the  best 
poetry  the  world  has  produced,  I  lightened  my  labors 
by  the  collection  and  perusal  of  old  English  books,  and 
by  making  extracts  from  and  criticisms  upon  them, 
whether  in  prose  or  verse  ;  so  that  in  time  they  formed 
a  large  body  of  manuscripts,  consisting  of  separate 
articles  alphabetically  arranged. 

The  work  in  the  hands  of  the  reader  has  been  mainly 
derived  from  this  source,  and  not  a  few  of  the  notices 
are  of  forty,  or  even  fifty,  years  standing.  Although 
I  kept  constantly  adding  to,  altering  and  correcting 
them,  both  as  to  facts  and  opinions,  some  of  them  are, 
in  the  most  material  points,  just  as  they  came  from  my 
pen,  soon  after  the  perusal  of  the  books  to  which  they 
relate.  It  will  be  found  that  a  few  are  reviews  of  pro 
ductions  altogether  unknown  to  bibliographers,  whiJe 
others  apply  to  publications  of  which  only  a  single 
copy  remains  to  us,  or  to  separate  tracts  of  the  utmost 
rarity. 

It  is  true  that  notices  of  a  very  few  more  common, 
but  still  scarce,  books  will  be  found  interspersed,  a  cir 
cumstance  arising  from  the  fact  that  I  have  incorpo- 


preface. 


Vll 


rated  all  the  productions  formerly  embraced  in  what 
is  generally  known  as  the  "  Bridgewater  Catalogue,'* 
which  about  thirty  years  ago  I  prepared  for  the  first 
Earl  of  Ellesmere,  and  which  was  privately  printed  at 
the  expense  of  that  gifted,  enlightened,  and  liberal  no 
bleman.     Through  my  hands  in  1837  he  dispersed,  as 
presents,  in  different  quarters  of  the  globe,  the  fifty 
copies  of  which  the  whole  impression  consisted ;  but, 
some  years  after  the  completion  of  the  undertaking, 
his  Lordship  expressed  his  regret,  that  the  limitation 
in  point  of  number  much  restricted  the  utility  of  that 
Catalogue.     He  therefore  authorized  me  at  any  time 
to  reprint  it,  if  I  thought  it  would  answer  as  a  pecu 
niary  speculation.      During   Lord   Ellesmere's  life  I 
never  availed  myself  of  this   permission ;  but  a  pro 
posal  of  the  kind  was  made  to  me  not  long  after  his 
demise.     I  did  not  then  listen  to  it,  because  I  was  still 
anxious  to  introduce  corrections  upon  many  of  the 
pages  ;  and  because,  even  then,  I  contemplated  a  work 
upon  a  broader  basis,  and  of  a  wider  range,  not  limited 
to  the  contents  of  any  single  library,  whether  public 
or  private. 

It  may  be  stated,  nevertheless,  that  in  the  course  of 
my  four  volumes,  I  have  reprinted  the  whole  of  the 
"Bridgewater  Catalogue."  I  refused  to  mutilate  it  by 
the  omission  of  any  article,  however  comparatively  in 
significant;  but  I  have,  at  the  same  time,  carefully 
inserted  whatever  information  I  subsequently  procured, 
and  the  consequence  is  that  there  is  no  one  piece  of 
criticism,  derived  from  the  "  Bridgewater  Catalogue," 
that  has  not  received  improvements  more  or  less  im 
portant.  Had  I  not  been  desirous  of  giving  that  work 


v 

in  its  entirety,  I  might  have  discarded  accounts  of  a 
few  books  of  more  ordinary  occurrence,  but  which  the 
autographs  of  the  writers,  in  dedications  or  otherwise, 
had  rendered  of  peculiar  interest  and  value  in  the 
Ellesmere  Library. 

Before  that  memorable  assemblage  of  books  came 
into  the  possession  of  Lord  Francis  Egerton  (after 
wards  the  first  Earl  of  Ellesmere)  some  highly  impor 
tant  works  had  been  turned  out  of  it,  in  many  instances 
under  the  mistaken  impression  that  they  were  dupli 
cates.  These  supposed  duplicates,  generally  marked 
by  John  Earl  of  Bridgewater  (who  died  in  1649)  in  a 
somewhat  peculiar  manner,  were  to  be  found  on  the 
shelves  of  several  booksellers,  or  in  private  hands,  and 
two  or  three  occurred  in  sale-lists  not  long  after  the 
preparation  of  the  "  Bridgewater  Catalogue."  One 
of  these  may  be  specified  as  the  finest  copy  of  the  son 
nets  of  Shakspeare  (4to.  1609)  that  has  ever  been 
seen,  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  repurchasing  it  for 
Lord  Ellesmere.  Having  also  a  noble  collection  of 
old  plays,  (though  much  impaired  when  imaginary  du 
plicates  were  incautiously  extruded,)  his  Lordship -was 
at  all  times  anxious  to  restore  them  to  their  ancient 
places  at  any  price,  and  he  commissioned  me  to  secure 
such  relics  for  him.  He  besides  applied  a  considerable 
sum  every  year  to  the  formation  of  a  separate  library, 
especially  devoted  to  the  illustration  of  Shakspeare  and 
our  early  stage.  This  most  agreeable  duty  Lord  Elles 
mere  assigned  to  me ;  and  had  not  the  commission  on 
the  British  Museum  intervened,  (on  which  I  felt,  most 
reluctantly,  bound  to  take  an  independent  course,  in 
favor  of  a  compendious  catalogue  which  would  enable 


IX 

readers  instantly  to  find  the  book  wanted  without 
wading  through  a  labyrinth  of  tediously  extended 
titles,)  this  design  might  have  advanced  considerably 
farther  towards  completion.  The  difficulty  was  to  pro 
cure  the  books,  so  rare  and  costly  had  the  best  of  them 
become,  but  Lord  Ellesmere  did  not  hesitate  to  pur 
chase  any  work  I  recommended.  There  never,  per 
haps,  existed  a  more  confiding  or  bountiful  patron  ; 
and,  after  an  intercourse  of  more  than  thirty  years,  I 
may  venture  to  say,  with  affectionate  humility,  that 
the  only  fault  of  his  character  was  having  too  high  an 
estimate  of  those  who  were  interested  in  misguiding 
him,  and  too  little  reliance  upon  his  own  unswayed 
convictions. 

It  is  now  above  sixty  years  since  I  first  obtained  a 
ticket  for  the  reading-room  of  the  British  Museum, 
and  my  own  notions  as  to  the  easy  possibility  of  pro 
curing  a  short  and  useful  catalogue  of  the  books,  have 
never  undergone  the  slightest  change.  This  is  probably 
the  last  preface  I  shall  ever  be  able  to  compose,  and  I 
therefore  add,  that  if  the  Lord  Ellesmere  of  1847  and 
1848  had  only  been  as  firm  as,  in  my  opinion,  he  was 
originally  right,  we  might  possibly  (I  only  say  pos 
sibly)  long  ago  have  obtained  the  easiest  mode  of 
reference  to  every  printed  volume  in  the  library.  The 
want  of  it  has  often  kept  me,  and  others,  away  from 
the  reading-room,  because,  in  the  confused  multitude 
of  volumes  over  which  the  various  catalogues  are  dis 
tributed,  we  never  could  be  sure  whether  the  books  we 
were  in  search  of  were,  or  were  not,  upon  the  shelves 
of  the  Institution.  It  is,  besides,  the  misfortune  of  the 
British  Museum  that  it  is  peculiarly  deficient  in  works 


x  preface, 

of  the  class  to  which  I  was  anxious  expecially  to  refer. 
I  willingly  admit  that  this  is  not  the  fault  of  the  present 
principal  librarian.  In  our  time,  the  books  are  not  to 
be  procured,  except  at  enormous  prices,  particularly  if 
it  be  known  that  the  British  Museum  is  in  the  market. 
My  acquaintance  with  the  head  of  that  establishment 
is  necessarily  very  slight.  I  am  well  aware,  however, 
of  his  energy,  ability  and  acquirements ;  but  I  must 
say,  that  the  long-felt  want  of  a  concise  and  intelligible 
mean  of  reference  to  the  books  in  the  British  Museum 
(which  mean  he  has  always  resisted)  much  counter 
balanced  the  other  advantages  derived  from  his  position, 
when  he  had  the  control  of  the  department  of  printed 
books.  Such  are  my  confirmed  sentiments,  after  a  life 
long  experience  in  the  library,  and  when,  in  my  sev 
enty-seventh  year,  I  am  so  near  the  end  of  my  laborious 
course,  that  the  existing  state  of  the  catalogues  can 
make  little  difference  to  me. 

I  have  reason  to  know  that,  nearly  twenty  years 
since,  I  injured  my  own  prospects  by  the  part  I  took 
upon  this  subject ;  because,  if  I  were  correctly  in 
formed,  the  commissioners  had  at  one  time  a  design  to 
separate  the  printed  book  department  into  two  por 
tions —  English  and  foreign.  If  this  reasonable  plan 
had  been  carried  out,  and  I  had  accommodated  myself 
to  the  views  of  those  who  were  for  a  manuscript  cat 
alogue  in  five  or  six  hundred  huge  folio  volumes,  I 
might,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Earl  of  Ellesmere,  as 
head  of  the  commission,  and  of  the  Duke  of  Devon 
shire,  as  one  of  the  trustees,  have  had  a  chance  of 
filling  the  appointment  which  would  thus  have  been 
created.  I  am  now,  of  course,  too  old  for  any  such 


XI 

duties,  but  the  trustees,  after  the  close  of  the  inquiry, 
did  appoint  a  new  and  a  most  valuable  officer  in  another 
overgrown  department.  All  I  wish  now  to  do  is  to 
record,  before  I  die,  my  ancient  conviction  in  favor  of 
the  scheme  I  advocated  in  my  two  days'  evidence 
before  the  commissioners,  by  whom,  I  fear,  I  was  con 
sidered  a  very  obstructive  secretary. 

For  the  reasons  stated,  I  have  obtained  few  of  my 
materials  from  the  British  Museum,  while  from  the 
Bodleian  library,  where  the  books  are  instantly  acces 
sible  and  the  catalogue  complete,  I  have  from  time  to 
time  derived  important  assistance.  The  head  of  that 
establishment  and  the  other  learned  curators  were  never 
weary  of  giving  me  their  readiest  aid.  My  chief  reli 
ance,  however,  has  been  upon  my  own  industry  and 
vigilance,  willingly  encouraged,  even  from  my  outset, 
by  the  liberality  of  private  individuals,  who  had  fine 
collections  of  rare  books,  from  the  days  of  Sir  Francis 
Freeling  and  Mr.  Perry  down  to  the  later  acquisitions 
of  Mr.  Heber  and  Mr.  Miller.  To  collectors  of  a  later 
period  I  have  seldom  been  indebted  ;  but  I  may  men 
tion  the  name  of  one  bookseller  who  was  always  glad  to 
contribute  to  my  purpose  —  the  late  Thomas  Rodd,  a 
man  as  celebrated  for  his  knowledge  of  books  as  for  his 
fairness  in  dealing  with  them.  Many  and  many  a  lit 
erary  rarity  has  he  purchased  for  my  use  and  advantage, 
sometimes  at  my  instance ;  and  as  the  price  of  such 
commodities  has  been  gradually  rising  during  the  whole 
of  the  present  century,  neither  he  nor  I  ever  had  to 
regret  the  dearness  of  our  bargains.  He  was  of  a  good 
family,  but  accidentally  reduced,  and  my  father  and 
his  father  were  at  the  same  public  school ;  they  after- 


Xll 


wards  met  in  Spain,  and  it  was  in  the  year  1804,  or 
1805,  that  my  father  first  took  me  to  the  old  book-shop 
then  kept  by  his  worthy,  though  less  fortunate  school 
fellow.  This  was,  in  fact,  my  introduction  to  the  early 
literature  of  our  country ;  and  it  was  not  many  years 
afterwards  that  I  purchased  my  first  old  English  book 
of  any  real  value,  Wilson's  "  Logic."  Long  subse 
quently  I  bought  hundreds  of  other  books  from  and 
through  Rodd;  but,  as  I  never  was  rich  enough  to 
collect,  and  keep,  what  may  be  called  a  library,  he  sold 
them  again,  and  very  seldom  at  a  loss. 

Readers  may  imagine  that  I  have  obtained  much  in 
formation  from  such  works  as  Censura  Literaria,  "  The 
British  Bibliographer,"  or  Restituta,  to  say  nothing  of 
smaller  productions  of  a  similar  character.  This  is  a 
mistake.  I  have  never  referred  to  them  without  ac 
knowledgment;  but  it  will  be  found  in  the  fourteen 
hundred  pages  that  follow  this  preface  that,  excepting 
for  the  sake  of  illustration  or  for  the  correction  of  some 
important  error,  I  have  never  criticised,  or  I  may 
almost  say,  quoted  a  single  volume  noticed  by  others. 
It  was  generally  enough  to  induce  me  to  lay  an  old 
book  aside  to  find  that  it  had  already  passed  through 
the  hands  of  Brydges,  Park,  or  Haslewood.  To  the 
taste  and  learning  of  the  first  I  bear  willing  testimony. 
The  second  possessed  knowledge,  but  without  much  dis 
crimination  ;  and  the  third  was  a  man  remarkable  for 
his  diligence,  but  remarkable  also  for  the  narrowness 
of  his  views,  for  his  total  want  of  judgment,  and  for 
the  paucity  of  his  information. 

I  can  assert,  without  the  chance  of  contradiction, 
that  there  is  no  one  book,  the  merits  or  peculiarities  of 


preface. 


Xlll 


which  are  discussed  in  these  volumes,  that  has  not 
passed  through  my  own  hands  and  been  carefully  read 
by  my  own  eyes.  There  is  no  extract,  no  line,  that 
has  not  been  copied  by  my  own  pen  ;  and  although  I 
cannot  for  an  instant  suppose  that  I  have  altogether 
avoided  mistakes,  I  hope  that  I  have  made  as  few  as 
possible.  In  a  case  of  this  sort,  where  hundreds  of 
names  occur,  and  thousands  of  dates  are  given,  errors 
must  inevitably  have  crept  in  ;  but  I  am  aware  of  none, 
whether  relating  to  books  or  their  authors,  that  I  have 
not  set  right  in  the  "  Additions,  Notes  and  Corrections," 
placed  at  the  beginning  of  my  book,  as  it  were,  to  so 
licit  the  indulgence  of  the  reader  in  the  outset.1  Even 
if  this  work  be  found  to  deserve  reprinting,  I  can  hardly 
hope  to  live  to  superintend  a  revised  edition  of  it. 

It  may  be  necessary  to  add,  that  I  have  purposely 
avoided  old  English  dramas  and  plays,  because  they 
form  so  distinct  a  subject  that  they  ought  to  be  sepa 
rately  treated.  I  have  by  me  many  details  regarding 
the  plots,  characters,  poetry  and  appliances  of  perform 
ances  of  this  description,  from  the  remotest  dates,  some 
of  them  relating  to  productions  hitherto  unrecorded ; 
and  if  time,  opportunity  and  eyesight  should  unexpect 
edly  and  graciously  be  allowed  me,  it  will  much  add 
to  my  happiness  to  be  able  hereafter  to  put  them  into 
shape  for  publication.  Dum  spiro  spero. 

J.  P.  C. 

MAIDENHEAD,  Ikih  April,  1865. 

1  These  "Additions,  Notes  and  Corrections  "  have,  in  this  edition,  been  \^ 
inserted  in  their  proper  places,  as  foot-notes. 


Account 


OF 


EAELY   ENGLISH    LITERATURE. 


ABBOT,  GEORGE.  —  A  Sermon  preached  at  Westminster, 
May  26,  1608,  at  the  Funerall  Solemnities  of  the  Right 
Honorable  Thomas  Earle  of  Dorset,  late  High  Treasurer 
of  England.  By  George  Abbot,  Doctor  of  Divinitie 
and  Deane  of  Winchester,  one  of  his  Lordships  Chap- 
leines,  &c.  —  London :  Printed  by  Melchisedech  Brad- 
wood  for  William  Aspley.  1608.  8vo.  18  leaves. 

This  production,  although  upon  the  death  of  a  man  of  tho 
highest  distinction  as  a  Poet  and  Statesman,  has  sometimes  been 
omitted  in  the  list  of  the  works  of  Archbishop  Abbot.  Jt  has,  of 
course,  been  mentioned,  but  we  notice  the  sermon  in  some  detail 
from  the  only  copy  we  ever  saw  sold,  (there  is  one  in  the  Bodleian 
Library,  and  another  at  Cambridge,)  chiefly  on  account  of  the  bio 
graphical  matter  it  contains.  The  text  is  from  Isaiah  xl.  v.  6,  7  ; 
and  after  various  moral  observations  and  illustrations,  of  no  great 
originality,  the  preacher  proceeds  to  Lord  Dorset's  character  in 
these  terms :  — 

"  Her  Majestic  (Q.  Eliz.),  not  long  before  her  death,  being  pleased,  as  it 
seemeth,  with  some  speciall  piece  of  service,  which  his  Lordship  had  done 
unto  her,  grew  at  large  to  discourse  touching  this  nobleman,  as  an  hon 
orable  person,  and  a  Counsellor  of  Estate,  in  writing  hath  advertised  me. 
Her  Highnesse  was  then  pleased  to  decipher  out  his  life  by  seven  steps  or 
degrees.  The  first  was  his  yoonger  daies,  the  time  of  his  scholarship, 

VOL.  I.  1 


2  Stbltograpljtcal  Account  of 

when  first  in  that  famous  Universitie  of  Oxford,  and  afterward  in  the 
Temple  (where  he  took  the  degree  of  Barrister)  he  gave  tokens  of  such 
pregnancie,  such  studiousnesse  and  judgement,  that  he  was  held  no  way 
inferiour  to  any  of  his  time  or  standing.  And  of  this  there  remain  good 
tokens  both  in  English  and  Latine  published  unto  the  world.  The  second 
was  his  travell,  when  being  in  France  and  Italy  he  profited  very  much 
in  the  languages  in  matter  of  story  and  state  (whereof  this  Common 
wealth  found  great  benefit  in  his  Lordship's  elder  yeares  in  the  deepest 
consultations  that  belonged  unto  this  kingdome).  And  being  prisoner  in 
Eome  for  the  space  of  fourteene  daies  (which  trouble  was  brought  upon 
him  by  some  who  hated  him  for  his  love  to  religion,  and  his  dutie  to  his 
Soveraigne)  he  so  prudently  bare  himselfe  that,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
and  his  temperate  kind  of  carriage,  he  was  freed  out  of  that  danger.  The 
third  step,  which  her  Majestic  did  thinke  good  to  observe  was  (upon 
returne  into  England)  his  comming  unto  her  Court,  where,  on  divers  occa 
sions,  he  bountifully  feasted  her  Highnesse  and  her  Nobles,  and  so  he  did 
to  forren  Ambassadors.  At  that  time  he  entertained  Musicians,  the  most 
curious  which  any  where  he  could  have,  and  therein  his  Lordship  excelled 
unto  his  dying  day.  Then  was  his  discourse  judicious,  but  yet  wittie  and 
delightfull.  Thus  he  was  in  his  yoonger  daies  a  scholar  and  a  traveller, 
and  a  Courtier  of  speciall  estimation." 

Afterwards  Abbot  mentions  the  well-known  gift  of  a  ring  by 
King  James  (Cooper's  Ath.  Cantabr.  II.  487)  ;  but  the  Arch 
bishop  had  no  reason  to  plume  himself  on  his  own  knowledge,  or 
on  the  accuracy  of  his  information,  for  in  the  margin,  opposite  the 
words  where  he  had  applauded  the  Earl's  "  pregnancy  "  both  in 
English  and  Latin,  he  placed  this  note  :  —  u  The  Life  of  Tresilian 
in  the  Mirrour  of  Magistr.  —  Epist.  prefix.  Aulic.  Barth.  Clerke." 
Lord  Dorset  unquestionably  had  written  a  Latin  letter  prefixed 
to  Bartholomew  Clerke's  Latin  translation  of  Castiglione's  Cor- 
tegiano,  but  George  Ferrers  was  the  author  of  the  "  Life  of  Tre 
silian  "  in  the  "  Mirror  for  Magistrates,"  while  the  Earl,  when  Mr. 
Sackville,  had  written  a  much  superior  portion  of  that  work,  "  the 
Complaint  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham."  More  than  all,  he  con 
tributed  the  famous '"  Induction  "  *  to  that  celebrated  collection  in 

i  This  "Induction,"  in  what  is  called  "The  Seconde  Parte  of  the  Mir 
rour  for  Magistrates"  (which,  in  the  edition  of  1563,  was  appended  by 
W.  Baldwin  to  the  first  part,  originally  published  in  1559),  precedes  Sack- 
ville's  "  Complaynt  of  Henrye  duk^e  of  Buckingham,"  and  in  a  manner 
prepares  the  way  for  it.  The  "  Induction  "  alone  fills  twenty  pages,  viz., 
from  gig.  P  Hi.  to  R  iiii. 


(Earlg  (Zrnjjlislj  Cikrattare.  8 

1563,  which  "  Induction,"  it  has  been  admitted  by  everybody,  dis 
plays  consummate  ability  in  abstract  impersonation,  a  department 
in  which  even  Spenser,  many  years  afterwards,  scarcely  went  be 
yond  him. 

Sackville's  English  lines  introductory  to  Hoby's  version  of  the 
Cortegiano  in  1561  were  perhaps  hardly  worth  mention,  (as  in 
deed  they  have  often  been  passed  over,)  but  Abbot  says  noth 
ing  of  the  authorship  by  the  Earl  of  two  entire  acts  in  our  earliest 
blank-verse  tragedy  "  Gorboduc  " :  we  believe  that  it  arose  from 
his  ignorance  of  the  important  fact,  and  not  because  he  thought 
it  a  topic  unbecoming  the  pulpit.  The  drama  was  acted  before 
Queen  Elizabeth  at  Whitehall  in  1561,  and  it  was  printed  in  1565 
with  the  names  of  Norton  (the  joint  author)  and  Sackville  on  the 
title-page,  but  we  do  not  recollect  that  it  was  ever  spoken  of  as 
theirs  by  contemporaries ;  and  when  once  Lord  Dorset  had  en 
tered  on  his  public  career,  he  seems  not  to  have  been  fond  of 
recurring  to  his  youthful  literary  performances.  Nevertheless,  his 
"  Induction  "  to  the  "  Mirror  for  Magistrates,"  and  his  two  acts  of 
"  Gorboduc,"  so  memorable  for  the  effect  ere  long  produced  on 
our  national  drama  by  the  introduction  of  blank-verse,  must  give 
him  a  more  permanent  claim  to  admiration  than  any  of  the  great 
public  duties  in  which  he,  for  about  half  a  century,  was  engaged. 

The  last  three  leaves  are  filled  by  an  extract  from  Lord  Dor 
set's  will. 


ABSOLOM.  —  A  godly  and  profitable  Treatise,  intituled  Ab- 
solom  his  fall,  or  the  ruin  of  Roysters,  &c.  Imprinted 
at  London  by  Thomas  Orwin  for  N.  L.  and  lohn  Busbie. 
8vo.  B.  L.  n.  d.  44  leaves. 

This  small  work,  cited  by  Prynne  in  his  "  Histriomastix,"  4to, 
1633,  p.  198,  is  included  in  only  one  public  catalogue  (that  of  the 
Bodleian  Library),  and  is  not,  as  far  as  we  know,  in  the  possession 
of  any  private  collector.  No  tract  of  the  time  (1589)  gives  so 
concise  and  singular  an  account  of  the  dress,  &c.  of  both  sexes ; 
and  these  peculiarities,  or  absurdities,  excited  so  strongly  the  bile 
of  the  puritanical  writer,  that  he  found  it  impossible  to  keep  his 
language  within  the  bounds  of  moderation,  almost  of  decency. 


4  Bibliographical  Account  of 

It  has  no  date,  and  only  the  initials  of  the  author  at  the  end  of 
the  dedication  to  Sir  John  Hart,  Lord  Mayor  in  1589,  in  which 
W.  T.  calls  upon  him  to  exert  his  power  for  the  correction  of  such 
gross  abuses.  He  entitles  his  book  "  Absolom  his  Fall,"  because 
he  especially  directs  his  attack  against  "the  vile  and  abominable 
abuse  of  curled  long  haire,"  which,  if  remedied,  would  happily 
be,  in  the  words  of  his  title,  "  the  ruin  of  roysters."  The  subse 
quent  specimen  of  his  style  refers  to  the  ridiculous  apparel  of 
women  :  — 

"  As  for  their  little  copped  crowne  hats,  which  are  so  little  and  so  light, 
that  the  smallest  blast  of  winde  would  carie  them  away,  which  so  artifi 
cially  is,  I  thinke,  pinned  to  their  heads,  or  at  least  wise  to  the  attire  of 
their  heads,  are  they  not  more  comelie  for  little  children,  or  babies  that  the 
children  make,  than  for  them?  As  for  their  deepe  and  great  ruffes  (where 
in,  I  thinke,  the  diuell  lieth  in  every  set)  are  they  not  more  fit  for  monsters 
and  giants,  than  for  such  slender  and  tender  creatures  of  God  ?  As  for 
their  fardingales  (which  but  for  reverence  sake  we  might  otherwise  term) 
which  so  like  breeches  stand  about  them,  are  they  not  better  beseeming 
the  state  of  fooles,  than  the  corps  of  wise  and  discreete  women  ?  As  for 
their  truncke  sleeves,  made  to  their  gownes,  are  not  the  sleeves  thereof 
more  fitter  to  weare  in  stead  of  men's  Venetians,  than  the  sleeves  of 
women?  And  all  this  (for  sooth)  must  be  to  preserue  their  tender  car 
casses  from  the  weather." 

Men  also  wore  "  copped  crowne  hats,"  and  they  are  doubtless 
what  Shakspeare  refers  to  in  "  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  Act 
V.  sc.  1.  They  continued  long  in  fashion. 

The  writer  dwells  likewise  at  considerable  length,  and  with 
great  animation,  upon  the  pride  and  extravagance  of  servants,  a 
point  which  till  then  had  not  attracted  much  attention.  It  was 
about  this  period  that  the  old-fashioned  blue  coats,  in  which  male 
attendants  had  usually  been  attired,  began  to  be  laid  aside  for 
varied  and  garded  liveries. 


ACHELLEY,  THOMAS.  —  A  most  lamentable  and  Tragicall 
historic,  conteyning  the  outrageous  and  horrible  tyrannic 
which  a  Spanishe  gentlewoman  named  Violenta  executed 
upon  her  lover  Didaco,  because  he  espoused  another 
beyng  first  betrothed  unto  her.  Newly  translated  into 


lii  Cfnglislj  Citeraturt.  5 

English  meter,  by  T.  A.  1576.  —  Imprinted  at  London 
by  lohn  Charlewood  for  Thomas  Butter  dwelling  in 
Paules  Church-yarde  neere  to  S.  Austines  gate  at  the 
Shippe.  1576.  8vo.  39  leaves. 

Although  Achelley  professes  to  have  translated  this  story  anew 
in  1576,  there  is  little  doubt  from  comparison,  that  in  putting  it 
into  "  English  metre  "  he  availed  himself  of  the  tale,  not  so  much 
as  we  find  it  in  Bandello,  but  as  it  appears  in  Paynter's  "  Palace 
of  Pleasure,"  which  had  then  been  published  nearly  ten  years. 
Paynter  tells  us,  at  his  conclusion,  that  he  had  varied  from  his 
original  in  saving  the  life  of  the  guilty  servant  Janique,  whom 
Bandello  had  represented  as  suffering  with  her  more  guilty  mis 
tress  ;  and  Achelley  adopts  the  improvement,  by  allowing  her  to 
escape  from  Valencia,  where  the  whole  scene  is  laid,  to  Africa. 

Whether  Achelley  had  written  anything  in  verse  before  this 
attempt  we  know  not,  but  he  displays  considerable  skill  and  free 
dom  ;  and  though,  like  Bandello,  coarse  in  his  epithets  and  strong 
in  his  expressions,  he  makes  good  use  of  his  mother-tongue,  and 
displays  more  ease  and  variety  than  some  of  his  contemporaries. 
In  1572  he  had  published  a  work  that  does  not  seem  to  have  espe 
cially  qualified  him  for  his  Italian  task,  since  it  consists  merely  of 
"  prayers  and  meditations  "  under  the  title  of  "  The  Key  of 
Knowledge."  *  However,  he  was  certainly  a  better  versifyer 
than  Lewicke  or  Partridge,  although  inferior,  in  some  respects,  to 
Garter  and  Brooke  ;  but  they  all,  though  similar  in  style  and  sub 
jects,  wrote  some  years  earlier  than  Achelley,  and  between  1562 
and  1576  our  language  had  made  considerable  advances.  Wat 
son  printed  his  EKaTOfnradia  in  1581,  and  Achelley  was  then  of 
sufficient  prominence  to  be  called  upon  for  commendatory  verses, 
even  of  a  poet  whose  reputation  as  a  writer  of  sonnets  became  so 
distinguished.  Watson's  merits  as  a  poet  rest  not  so  much  upon 
the  work  we  have  named,  as  upon  his  "  Tears  of  Fancy,"  (see 

1  Achelley's  "  Key  of  Knowledge  "  must  have  come  out  later  than  1572, 
because,  in  the  dedication  of  it  to  Lady  Elizabeth  Russell,  he  speaks  of 
his  "  ragged  verses  whiche,  about  two  yeares  paste,  I  presumed  to  tender 
to  your  discreete  judgement."  It  is  probable  that  he  refers  to  some  other, 
and  earlier,  poetical  production  than  his  "  Didaco  and  Violenta,"  pub 
lished  in  1576. 


6  JJibliograpIjtoxl  Account  of 

Watson,  post,}  which  did  not  come  from  the  press  until  1593. 
Thomas  Achelley  the  elder,  who  was  perhaps  the  father  of  Thomas 
Achelley  the  younger,  (see  the  next  Art.,)  must  be  judged  by  the 
work  under  consideration. 

It  is  dedicated  in  prose  "  to  the  Right  Worshipful  Sir  Thomas 
Gresham,  Knight,"  and  here  the  author,  or  translator,  furnishes 
the  argument  of  his  work,  upon  which  we  need  not  enlarge,  be 
cause  the  story  will  be  gathered  sufficiently  from  what  follows. 
In  imitation  of  the  style  of  Bandello,  Achelley  talks  of  "  the 
beastly  Progne  "  and  "  the  butcherly  Medea,"  and  subsequently 
opens  his  narrative,  headed  "  The  Tragicall  Historic  of  Didaco 
and  Violenta,"  with  these  lines :  — 

"  Where  Phoebus  foming  steedes 

Their  restles  race  doo  ende, 
And  leaving  our  Horizon  to 

Th'  Antipodes  doo  wende, 
Eight  there  dooth  lye  a  famous  soyle, 

Whose  farthest  bounds  of  land, 
Environed  with  the  brinish  floods 

Of  Ocean  doo  stand." 

Here  "  doo  ende,"  "  doo  wende,"  and  "  doo  stand  "  give  no 
favorable  impression  as  to  the  writer's  powers,  merely  eking  out, 
as  they  do,  the  measure  of  his  verse.  By  the  above  and  some 
other  similar  lines  he  means  to  describe  Spain,  on  the  etymology 
of  which  name  he  is  afterwards  thus  clumsily  learned  :  — 

"  Our  former  auncetors  have  tearmde 

The  same  Hesperia  hight, 
But  tract  of  time  presound  the  name 

Iberia  to  write: 
Both  names,  by  great  dexteritie 

And  judgement,  sound  againe 
Hispania;  the  same  at  last 

Was  calde  in  Englishe  Spaine." 

The  "  dexterity  "  and  "  judgment  "  which  derived  "  Spain  " 
from  "  Iberia  "  may  not  be  very  apparent ;  but  the  extravagant 
laudation  of  Spanish  soldiers,  whose  bravery  and  skill  could,  if 
they  had  then  lived,  have  saved  Troy,  and  defeated  "  the  raging 
Macedonian  routs,"  would  be  better  tolerated  in  England  in  1576 
than  ten  or  twelve  years  afterwards.  Didaco,  we  are  told,  was  a 


<£arb  (EnglisI)  Citerature.  7 

most  accomplished  soldier  of  Valencia,  who  had  never  yet  yielded 
to  the  weakness  of  love  :  — 

"  Enjoying  still  his  libertie, 

Not  knowyng  Venus  yoke, 
Unexpert  in  the  panges  of  love, 

And  cursed  Cupides  stroke, 
He  never  haunted  Venus  Court, 

Ne  yet  her  carped  troupe: 
Such  weaklinges  he  abhord ;  his  mind 

To  no  such  thing  would  stoupe." 

However,  while  "  walking  in  the  Goldsmithes  Row  "  in  Valencia, 
he  sees  Violenta,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  shop-keepers ;  and 
Venus  in  a  long  speech  to  Cupid,  who  replies  with  about  equal 
prolixity,  induces  her  son  to  wound  Didaco.  The  hero  is,  of 
course,  instantly  and  furiously  passionate,  and  consoles  himself  by 
recounting  the  great  men  and  deities  who  have  yielded  to  Cupid's 
power,  according  to  the  representations  of  the  Poets  :  — 

"  Yes,  sure,  if  credit  ought  be  due 

To  Poets  learned  lore ; 
If  that  their  volumes  be  perusde 
As  gemmes  of  passing  store," 

there  could  be  no  derogation  in  his  submission.  He  is  at  first 
modestly  put  off  by  Violenta,  to  whom  he  had  sent  500  ducats ; 
but  in  the  end  he  offers  her  marriage,  she  consents,  and  they  are 
privately  united,  in  order  to  keep  the  matter  from  the  knowledge 
of  his  noble  and  wealthy  relatives.  After  about  a  year,  Didaco 
falls  in  love  with  another  lady  of  great  beauty,  high  birth,  and 
large  possessions,  and,  in  spite  of  his  former  vows,  marries  her. 
Violenta  hears  of  the  event,  and,  among  other  things,  exclaims  :  — 

"  0  haples  hap  and  dolefull  chaunce, 

That  ever  thy  tangling  tonge 
Made  breache  into  my  Virginitie, 

Which  I  preserved  so  long ! 
0  caytife  wretch!  and  can  thine  eyes 

Sustaine  for  to  behold 
These  raging  panges  and  marterdome 

Wherein  I  am  enrold? 
Is  this  the  guerdon  of  my  fayth, 

Which  I  have  usde  alway, 


8  BtbUograpljual  Account  of 

Now,  like  a  beast  and  reprobate, 
Thus  to  be  cast  away?  " 

She  vows  revenge,  and  accomplishes  it  in  a  very  brutal  manner 
with  the  assistance  of  her  maid  Janique  (always  misspelt  Jamque, 
to  the  ruin  of  the  measure),  and  sends  Didaco  a  letter  (given  in 
plain  prose)  treacherously  entreating  him  to  visit  her  once  more, 
and  to  spend  the  night  in  her  company.  He  consents,  and  at 
tempts  to  pacify  her  by  telling  her,  what,  however,  she  does  not 
believe,  that  he  had  married  a  second  time  by  compulsion,  and 
that  ere  long  he  would  destroy  the  lady  thus  forced  upon  him  by 
his  kindred  :  — 

"  And  when  my  practize  once  hath  wrought 

Her  cursed  finall  end, 
The  remnant  of  my  vitall  race 

With  thee  (my  deare)  He  spend: 
And  then,  in  tearme  of  further  time, 

It  plainely  shall  appeare 
How  that  Didaco  is  the  knight 

That  holdes  thy  love  most  deare." 

They  go  to  bed,  and  Janique,  (who  had  previously  fastened  a 
rope  which,  when  drawn  tight,  would  keep  Didaco  from  rising, 
and  had  removed  his  sword,  as  well  as  prepared  "  two  chopping- 
knives  "  at  the  instance  of  Violenta,)  when  Didaco  is  asleep,  pulls 
the  rope  which  prevents  him  from  resisting,  while  Violenta  delib 
erately  cuts  his  throat.  She  subsequently  mangles  the  body  most 
savagely,  and  with  the  help  of  Janique  casts  it  out  of  window 
into  the  street,  where  it  is  found  and  recognized.  The  maid  es 
capes  to  Africa  with  the  connivance  of  her  mistress ;  and  Vio 
lenta,  before  the  judges  and  officers,  makes  a  bold  confession  of 
her  guilt.  The  description  of  the  murder  is  very  revolting  from 
the  coarseness  of  the  "  butcherly  "  language  ;  and  the  poem  con 
cludes,  not  with  any  moral  reflections  on  the  hideous  brutality  of 
the  heroine,  but  upon  the  folly  of  those  who  allow  themselves  to 
be  overcome  by  blind  passion :  — 

"  Hap  glad  or  sad,  hap  weale  or  woe, 

Hap  hoped  joy  or  payne, 
Yet  both  in  this  one  issue  end, 
In  love  nought  is  but  vayne, ;  " 


(Earln  Qtnglislj  Citeratitrt.  9 

the  line  being  printed  in  Italic  type,  in  order  to  enforce  the 
axiom  :  the  last  words  are  — 

"  FINIS,  (qd)  Thomas  Achelley." 

The  whole  story  is  written  much  in  the  same  style  as  Drout's 
"  Gaulfrido  and  Bernardo,"  which  had  come  out  six  years  earlier; 
but,  if  anything,  Achelley  has  the  advantage  in  ease,  as  well  as  in 
variety  of  versification.  We  have  dwelt  the  longer  upon  this 
novel  of  "  Didaco  and  Violenta,"  because,  although  it  is  men 
tioned  both  by  Warton  and  Ritson,  no  bibliographer  has  hitherto 
given  any  account  of  it. 


ACHELLEY,  THOMAS.  —  The  Massacre  of  Money.  Terunteo 
sen  vitiosa  nuce  non  emitur.  —  London  :  Printed  by 
Thomas  Creede  for  Thomas  Bushell.  1602.  4to.  23 
leaves. 

It  has  been  usual,  upon  no  very  sufficient  grounds,  to  assign 
this  work  to  a  Thomas  Achelley :  the  initials  T.  A.  at  the  end  of 
the  Dedication  (to  M.  William  and  M.  Frauncis  Bedles)  form 
the  only  mark  of  authorship. 

There  can  be  little  dispute  that  "  The  Massacre  of  Money  "  was 
not  by  the  Thomas  Achelley  who,  twenty-six  years  before,  had 
written  the  subject  of  the  preceding  article  ;  but  he  may  have  had 
a  son  of  the  same  name,  and  of  a  similar  poetical  propensity. 
The  later  work,  both  in  style  and  topic,  more  nearly  resembles 
Barnfield's  "  Encomion  of  Lady  Pecunia,"  (see  hereafter,)  which 
had  come  out  in  1598,  and  was  republished,  with  changes  adapted 
to  the  altered  circumstances  of  the  times,  in  1605.  The  initials 
T.  A.  belong  to  no  other  known  writer  of  the  period,  and  Achel 
ley  is  a  poet  whose  name  occurs,  not  unfrequently,  in  "England's 
Parnassus,"  1600. 

As  the  extreme  scarcity  of  the  poem  (we  have  heard  of  only 
two  complete  copies)  has  hitherto  prevented  the  appearance  of 
any  specimens  from  it,  we  will  make  one  or  two  quotations,  which 
do  not  prove  that  the  author  was  very  original  in  his  notions,  or 
harmonious  in  the  expression  of  them.  In  the  following  lines  a 


10  Bibltograpljkal  Tlccomtt  of 

simile  has  been  caught  from  "Romeo  and  Juliet":  Act  I.  sc.  5. 
Pecunia,  who  is  the  subject  of  a  contest  between  Avarice,  Prodi 
gality,  and  Liberality,  thus  speaks  :  — 

"  Whilst  that  my  glory  midst  the  clouds  was  hid, 

Like  to  a  Jewell  in  an  ^Ethiop's  eare, 
Or  as  a  spot  upon  a  christal  lid, 
So  did  my  brightnes  with  more  pride  appeare." 

The  three  candidates  for  the  favor  of  Pecunia  having  abused 
each  other  abundantly,  the  strife  is  augmented  by  the  arrival  of 
Fortune,  Vice,  and  Virtue  :  the  two  latter,  after  a  formal  chal 
lenge,  have  a  vigorous  struggle,  which  is  about  to  end  in  the  dis 
comfiture  of  Virtue,  when  Jove  decides  the  contest  by  striking 
down  Vice  with  a  thunderbolt.  The  production  closes  with  an 
extravagant  compliment  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  was  still  on  the 
throne  when  it  was  published :  — 

"  Jove  now  departing,  Vertue  did  command 

In  England  to  set  up  her  chiefest  rest; 
She  should  find  favour  at  Eliza's  hand, 

With  whom  faire  wisdome  builded  hath  his  nest. 
The  Gods  ascend  to  heaven,  Vertue  departs 
T'our  more  then  mortall  Queene,  ruler  of  harts. 

Fortune  now  frets  to  see  her  selfe  throwne  downe, 

And  Vertue  lifted  to  such  dignitie; 
Truth  at  the  last  attained  due  renowne ; 

Pecunia  is  disposed  thriftily. 
England,  thou  art  Pleasures-presenting  stage, 
The  perfect  patterne  of  the  golden  age. 

Never  be  date  of  this  felicitie ; 

Never  be  alteration  of  this  joy; 
Never,  ah  never!  faile  thy  dignitie; 

Never  let  Fortune  crosse  thee  with  annoy: 
Never  let  Vertue  by  Vice  suffer  death ; 
Never  be  absent  our  Elizabeth ! 

Ever,  for  ever,  Englands  Beta  bee, 

Feared  of  Forraines,  honour' d  of  thine  owner 

Ever  let  treason  stoope  to  sov'raigntie; 
Ever  let  Vice  by  truth  be  overthrowne ! 

Ever,  graunt  Heavens  Creator,  of  our  Queene 

We  still  may  say  she  is,  not  she  hath  beene ! " 


Ghtglisl)  Ciforature.  11 

In  the  outset  the  writer  informs  the  reader  that  the  whole 
construction  of  his  poem  is  the  result  of  "  a  thought  conceived 
dreame."  The  quotations  ascribed  to  TJio.  Achely,  Tho.  Aclilow, 
and  Tho.Ach.  in  "  England's  Parnassus,"  1600,  could  not  of  course 
be  from  "  The  Massacre  of  Money,"  not  published  until  two  years 
afterwards.1 

ADAGES.  —  Adagia  Scotica,  or  a  collection  of  Scotch 
Proverbs  and  Proverbial  Phrases.  Collected  by  R.  B. 
Very  usefull  and  delightfull.  Omne  tulit  punctum  qui 
miscuit  utile  dulci.  —  London.  Printed  for  Nath  Brooke, 
&c.,  1668.  12mo.  30  leaves. 

The  Adages  are  alphabetically  arranged,  but  the  Collector,  R. 
B.,  (possibly  Richard  Brathwaite,  who  was  a  north-countryman, 
although  not  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  who  did  not  die  until  1673,) 
has  not  shown  much  skill  in  this  respect,  for  all  the  Proverbs  be 
ginning  with  the  definite  and  indefinite  articles  are  placed  under 
the  letters  A.  and  T. :  thus  the  first  proverb  in  the  volume  is, 
"  A  fair  bride  is  soon  buskt,  and  a  short  horse  is  soon  wispt."  The 
same  objection  applies  to  the  Collection  published  by  N.  R.,  in 
1659,  8vo,  "Proverbs  in  English,  French,  Dutch,  Italian,  and 
Spanish ;  "  from  whence  we  might  be  led  to  conclude  that  they 
were  inserted  in  those  languages,  but  they  are  only  translated,  and 
miscellaneously  printed.  The  work  before  us  appears  to  be  the 
earliest  assemblage  professedly  of  Scotch  Proverbs,  with  the  ex 
ception,  perhaps,  of  that  of  R.  Fergusson,  said  to  have  been  first 
printed  in  1598  :  the  "  Adagia  in  Latine  and  English,"  printed  at 
Aberdeen  in  1622,  8vo,  is  taken  from  the  Adagia  of  Erasmus, 
with  corresponding  English  Proverbs  subjoined. 

Although  the  work,  of  which  the  title  is  inserted  at  the  head  of 
this  article,  is  called  "  Adagia  Scotica,"  some  of  the  proverbs  are 
of  a  general  kind,  and  belong  to  many  countries,  and  to  various 
states  of  society,  while  others  are  purely  national.  The  following 
are  a  few  specimens  of  the  most  characteristic :  — 

i  Some  of  the  quotations  in  "  England's  Parnassus  "  might  be,  and 
probably  were,  derived  from  MS. 


12  J3tbltograpljtcal  Account  of 

"A  teem  purse  makes  a  bleat  merchant. 

A  man  may  wooe  where  he  will,  but  wed  where  he  is  weard. 

Biting  and  scarting  is  Scots  ifolks  wooing. 

Curtesie  is  cumbersom  to  them  that  kens  it  not. 

Drink  and  drouth  comes  sindle  together. 

Every  man  can  rule  an  ill  wife  but  he  that  hes  her. 

Fair  words  brake  never  bain,  foul  words  many  ane. 

Good  chear  and  good  cheap  garres  many  haunt  the  house. 

He  that  is  ill  of  his  harbery  is  good  of  his  way  kenning. 

Hap  and  a  halfpennie  is  worlds  geir  enough. 

It's  na  mair  pity  to  see  a  woman  greit,  nor  to  see  a  goose  go  barefoot. 

Knowledge  is  eith  born  about. 

Little  kens  the  wife  that  sits  by  the  fire,  how  the  wind  blows  cold  in 
hurle-burle  swyre. 

Many  masters,  quod  the  Paddock  to  the  harrow,  when  every  tind  took 
her  a  knock. 

Neir  is  the  kirtle,  but  neirer  is  the  sark. 

Of  other  men's  leather  men  take  large  whangs. 

Put  your  hand  no  farther  nor  your  sleeve  may  reek. 

Quhen  thieves  reckon  leal  men  come  to  their  geir. 

Rhue  and  time  grow  both  in  ane  garden. 

Sooth  bourd  is  na  bourd. 

There  is  little  to  the  rake  to  get  after  the  beisome. 

They  are  good  willy  of  their  horse  that  hes  none. 

The  next  time  ye  dance  wit  whom  ye  take  by  the  hand. 

Wishers  and  woulders  are  poor  householders. 

Ye  breed  of  the  cat,  ye  would  fain  have  fish,  but  ye  have  na  will  to  wet 
your  feet." 

The  earliest  extant  collection  of  proverbs  in  English  is  that 
made  by  John  Hey  wood,  the  dramatist,  printed  in  1547,  4to,  and 
many  times  afterwards.  There  are  two  distinct  works,  called 
"  The  Crossing  of  Proverbs,"  one  by  B.  K,  (probably  Nicholas 
Breton,)  in  8vo,  with  the  date  of  1616,  and  the  other  by  B.  R., 
also  in  8vo,  published  about  1680  :  the  latter  is  not  a  reprint  of 
the  former,  but*  both  consist  of  proverbs  with  answers  to  them 
immediately  following,  as : 

"  Proverb.  No  man  can  call  againe  yesterday. 

Cross.  Yes ;  hee  may  call  till  his  heart  ake,  though  it  never  come. 

Proverb.  Had-I-wist  was  a  foole. 

Cross.  No;  he  was  a  foole  that  said  so." 

These  are  from  "  The  Crossing  of  Proverbs,"  1616,  as  well  as 
the  following : 


<£arlj)  (Snglislj  f  iterature.  13 

"  Proverb.  The  world  is  a  long  journey. 

Cross.  Not  so  ;f  the  Sunne  goes  it  every  day. 
Proverb.  It  is  a  great  way  to  the  bottome  of  the  sea. 

Cross.  Not  so;  it  is  but  a  stone's  cast." 

These  two  proverbs  and  crosses  are  found  in  the  ballad  of 
"  King  John  and  the  Abbot  of  Canterbury,"  and  in  several  old 
jest-books. 

As  no  perfect  copy  of  either  part  (for  it  was  in  two  parts)  of 
k'  Crossing  of  Proverbs  "  is  known,  we  give  a  full  transcript  of  the 
title  of  the  first  part :  —  "Crossing  of  Proverbs.  Crosse-Answeres. 
And  Crosse-Humours.  By  B.  N.  Gent.  —  At  London,  Printed  by 
John  Wright,  and  are  to  be  solde  at  his  Shop  without  Newgate, 
at  the  signe  of  the  Bible.  1616."  The  date  of  the  second  part 
(imperfect,  but  sold  in  Heber's  Sale,  Part  IV.  p.  1 0)  is  the  same, 
but  it  professes  to  have  been  compiled,  not  by  B.  N.,  but  by  N.  B., 
(Nicholas  Breton  sometimes  reversed  his  initials,)  and  was  called 
"  Crossing  of  Proverbs.  The  second  part,  with  certaine  briefe 
Questions  and  Answeres."  The  above  will  be  sufficient  for  iden 
tification,  should  a  complete  copy  ever  be  discovered :  the  popu 
larity  of  the  small  work  inevitably  led  to  its  destruction. 


ADAM  BELL.  —  Adam  Bell,  Clim  of  the  Clough,  and 
William  of  Cloudesle.  London,  Printed  by  A.  M.  for 
TV.  Thackeray  at  the  Angel  in  Duck-Lane.  4to.  B.  L. 
11  leaves. 

There  is  no  date  to  this  impression  of  a  most  popular  ballad  in 
three  parts,  or  "  fits,"  as  they  were  called  of  old,  although  the  di 
visions  are  here  marked  only  by  spacing.  A  woodcut  of  three  men 
occupies  the  centre  of  the  title-page,  the  centre  one  with  sword 
and  target,  while  on  his  right  and  left  stand  a  bow-man  and  a 
bill-man  :  it  was  used  for  various  other  pieces  of  the  time. 

It  seems  likely  that  the  original  edition  of  "  Adam  Bell,  Clim  of 
the  Clough,  and  William  of  Cloudesley  "  was  that,  very  incor 
rectly,  printed  by  W.  Copland :  there  is  also  an  entry  of  it  by 
John  Kyng  in  the  Stationers'  Registers  in  the  year  1557-58 ;  but 
that  impression  has  not  come  down  to  us,  unless  it  be  in  a  frag- 


14  Siblicgrapljical  ^laouut  of 

ment  of  a  single  sheet,  not  long  since  discovered  as  the  fly-leaf  to 
another  book.  As  far  as  it.  goes,  it  supplies  a  text  vastly  superior 
to  that  of  Copland,  which,  however,  has  been  usually  adopted, 
and  we  find  it  repeated,  more  or  less  accurately,  by  James  Roberts 
in  1605,  1616,  and  by  Thackeray  some  thirty  years  later.  Rit- 
son,  in  his  "  Ancient  Popular  Poetry,"  8vo,  1791,  gave  Copland's 
text,  but  how  inferior  it  was  to  that  which  we  may,  perhaps,  pre 
sume  to  be  Kyng's,  we  will  illustrate  by  a  single  example.  Not 
far  from  the  beginning  of  the  second  fit  we  read  thus  in  Cop 
land  :  — 

"  And  as  they  loked  them  besyde 

A  paire  of  new  galowes  ther  thei  see, 
And  the  justice  with  a  quest  of  Squyers 
That  had  judged  Cloudesle  there  hanged  to  be." 

Thackeray  printed  the  last  two  lines  thus :  — 

"  And  the  Justice  with  a  Quest  of  Esquires, 
That  judgeth  William  hang'd  to  be." 

What  we  may  call  Kyng's  text  abolishes  at  once  the  "  Quest  of 
Squyers  "  and  the  "  Quest  of  Esquires,"  and  shows  how  the  real 
word  had  been  misread  and  misprinted  :  — 

"  And  as  they  loked  them  besyde 

A  payre  of  newe  galowes  there  they  see, 
And  the  justyce  with  a  quest  of  swerers 
That  had  judged  Clowdysle  there  hanged  to  be." 

The  "  swerers  "  were  of  course  the  jurors,  by  whom  the  verdict 
against  Cloudesley  had  been  pronounced.  The  other  improve 
ments,  as  far  as  the  fragment  extends,  are  so  numerous  and  im 
portant  that  we  cannot  but  lament  that  it  goes  no  farther  than  a 
single  sheet. 

A  comparison  of  Copland's  version  with  Thackeray's  sometimes 
shows  the  changes  our  language  had  undergone  in  the  course  of 
less  than  a  century  :  as  one  proof,  we  may  mention  that  when  the 
ballad,  as  Copland  printed  it,  tells  us  of  the  three  heroes,  that, 

"  They  preced  prestly  into  the  hall," 
Thackeray  did  not  understand  it,  and  gave  it 

'"  They  proceeded  presently  into  the  hall:" 


u  €ngli0Ij  Citeratar*.  15 

the  meaning  is,  that  the  archers  pressed  instantly  into  the  hall.  In 
the  same  way,  Thackeray  did  not  think  another  line  would  be 
easily  understood,  viz. :  — 

"  Where  the  people  were  most  in  prece," 
and  therefore  translated  it, 

"  Where  the  people  thickest  were." 

"  To  prece  "  was  of  old  to  press  as  in  a  crowd,  and  a  "  prece  " 
was  a  crowd.  Not  a  few  of  Thackeray's  changes  seem,  however, 
to  have  been  purely  arbitrary.  He  rightly  added  no  "second 
part,"  which  is  very  inferior  and  comparatively  modern,  having 
made  its  first  appearance  in  the  edition  by  J.  Roberts  in  1605.  It 
is  singular  that  nobody,  not  even  the  indefatigable  Ritson,  has  ad 
verted  to  Drayton's  notice  of  this  ballad,  and  of  Robin  Hood,  in 
his  "  Idea  :  the  Shepheard's  Garland,"  1593,  4to,  where  Gorbo 
tells  his  fellows  (sign.  D  3),  — 

" Come,  sit  we  dovvne  under  this  Hawthorne  tree; 
The  morrowes  light  shall  lend  us  daie  enough, 
And  tell  a  tale  of  Gawen  or  Sir  Guy, 

Of  Robin  Hood,  or  of  good  Clem  of  the  Clough." 

Between  the  date  of  Copland's  and  Kyng's  editions,  and  the 
date  of  Drayton's  Pastorals,  there  must  have  been  many  reprints 
of  "Adam  Bell,  Clim  of  the  Clough,  and  William  of  Cloudesley," 
but  they  have  probably  perished.  Heber  (Cat.  Part  iv.  p.  11) 
had  an  impression  by  T.  and  R.  Cotes,  dated  1632. 


AFFRICAN  AND  MENSOLA.  —  A  Famous  tragicall  discourse 
of  two  lovers,  Affrican  and  Mensola,  their  lives,  infortu- 
nate  loves,  and  lamentable  deaths,  together  with  the  of- 
spring  of  the  Florentines.  A  History  no  lesse  pleasant 
then  full  of  recreation  and  delight.  Newly  translated 
out  of  Tuscan  into  French  by  Anthony  Guerin,  domino 
Creste.  And  out  of  French  into  English  by  Jo.  Gou- 
bourne.  —  At  London  Printed  by  Ja.  R.  for  William 


16  Bibliographical  ^Urotmt  of 

Blackman,  dwelling  neere   the   great   North  doore  of 
Paules.     1597.     4to.     B.  L.     44  leaves. 

We  never  saw  nor  heard  of  more  than  one  copy  of  this  prose 
romance,  written  in  an  affected  style,  and  the  languid  story  devoid 
of  interest.  A  young  shepherd  named  Affrican  falls  in  love  with 
a  nymph  of  Diana,  whom  he  long  in  vain  pursues,  but  at  length, 
in  female  attire,  deflowers  her,  and  finally  kills  himself.  Of  Men- 
sola  is  born  Pruneo,  who  is  represented  as  the  original,  or  "  of- 
spring,"  of  the  Florentines.  The  description  of  the  half-willing 
and  half-unwilling  rape  upon  the  heroine  is  sufficiently  prurient, 
and  must  have  constituted  the  chief  attraction  of  the  performance. 

Of  Jo.  Goubourne  we  have  no  other  trace,  and  at  the  close  is 
printed  "  Thus  endeth  Maister  John  Bocace  to  his  Flossolan  : 
Data  fata  secutus."  It  is  dedicated  by  I.  G.  "  to  the  vertuous 
gentleman  Maister  Fraunces  Versaline  " :  then  comes  an  address 
"  To  the  Reader  health,"  and  a  page  headed  "  The  author  disireth 
the  favour  of  his  Mistris."  "A  Table  of  Contents  "  gives  the  titles 
of  the  18  tedious  chapters  of  which  the  Romance  consists.  The 
whole  merits  notice  only  on  account  of  its  extreme  rarity. 


AGES  OF  SIN.  —  The  Ages  of  Sin,  or  Sinnes  Birth  and 
groweth,  with  the  stepps  and  degrees  of  Sin,  from 
thought  to  finall  Impenitencie.  n.  d.  4to.  9  leaves. 

This  work  consists  of  nine  well  executed  copperplates,  to  the 
last  of  which  the  initials  "  Ja.  v.  L.  fecit,"  are  attached  ;  and,  from 
the  similarity  of  the  style,  we  need  not  hesitate  in  assigning  the 
other  eight  to  the  same  engraver  ;  perhaps  Jacob  van  Lochem,  a 
Dutch  or  Flemish  artist,  who  produced  other  plates  circulated  in 
this  country  about  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  although  the  pres 
ent  series  appears  to  be  unknown.  The  first  plate  constitutes  the 
title,  which  is  inserted  in  an  oval  frame,  and  underneath  it  the 
representation  of  a  large  snake,  with  a  number  of  smaller  ones 
making  their  way  out  of  its  entrails.  All  the  plates  are  in  the 
nature  of  emblems,  with  engraved  verses  underneath,  not  always 
very  intelligible,  nor  explanatory. 


Citcrature.  17 

From  the  little  connection  between  the  engravings  and  some  of 
the  inscriptions,  we  might  be  led  to  imagine  that  the  artist,  having 
the  plates  by  him,  employed  a  person  to  write  verses,  who  was  not 
very  ingenious  in  applying  them  to  the  subject.  The  following 
are  the  titles  of  the  nine  engravings:  1,  Suggestion  ;  2,  Rumina 
tion  ;  3,  Delectation  ;  4,  Consent ;  5,  Act ;  6,  Iteration  ;  7,  Gloria- 
tion  ;  8,  Obduration  ;  9,  Finall  Impenitency.  No  publisher's  name 
is  furnished. 


AIMON,  THE  FOUR  SONS  OF.  —  The  right  plesaunt  and 
goodly  Historie  of  the  foure  sonnes  of  Aimon,  the  which 
for  the  excellent  endytyng  of  it,  and  for  the  notable 
Prowes  and  great  vertues  that  were  in  them,  is  no  les 
pleasaunt  to  rede  then  worthy  to  be  knowen  of  all  estates 
bothe  hyghe  and  lowe,  n.  d.  fol.  B.  L.  197  leaves. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  following  Colophon,  that  this  copy,  at 
least  so  far,  differs  from  that  described  much  at  large  by  Dr.  Dib- 
din  in  his  ''  Typographical  Antiquities,"  iii.  137.  "  Here  finissheth 
the  hystory  of  the  noble  and  valiaunt  Knyght  Reynawde  of  Moun- 
tawban,  and  his  three  brethren.  —  Imprinted  at  London,  by 
Wynkyn  de  worde,  the  viii.  daye  of  Maye,  and  ye  yere  of  our  lorde, 
M.CCCCCiiii,  at  the  request  and  commaundement  of  the  noble 
and  puissaunt  erle,  the  Erie  of  Oxenforde,  And  now  Imprinted  in 
the  yere  of  our  Lorde,  M,CCCCCliiii,  the  vi.  daye  of  Maye,  by 
Wylliam  Copland,  dwellyng  in  Fletestrete  at  the  Signe  of  the 
Rose  Garland,  for  John  Waley." 

If  Dr.  Dibdin  be  correct,  in  the  Colophon  of  the  copy  he  used, 
Copland  omitted  his  place  of  residence  as  well  as  his  sign,  and  it 
purported  to  have  been  printed  for  Thomas  Peter,  instead  of  John 
Waley.  No  doubt,  as  Dr.  Dibdin  suggests,  a  certain  number  of 
copies  was  struck  off  for  particular  stationers  with  their  names 
appended.  As  in  his  citations  Dr.  Dibdin  does  not  profess  to  fol 
low  the  original  spelling,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  from  his  work 
whether  there  are  any  other  variations  of  typography.  The  Col 
ophon  certainly  renders  it  quite  clear  that  Wynkyn  de  Worde 
printed  an  edition  of  the  Romance  in  1504,  although  no  copy  of 

VOL.  i.  2 


18  JSibltograpIjicd  ^Uamnt  of 

it  is  now  known.  Dr.  Dibdin  has  not  quoted  the  very  interesting 
"  Prologue,"  which  gives  an  exact  account  of  the  origin  of  the 
undertaking,  as  well  as  of  another  book  translated,  probably,  by 
Caxton.  It  lis  as  follows,  but  in  the  second  sentence  there  is  an 
obvious  misprint :  "  desyred  and  coveite  to  lerned,"  ought  of 
course  to  be  "  desyred  and  coveited  to  lerne,"  the  letter  d  having 
been  added  to  the  wrong  word:  — 

"As  the  Philosopher  in  the  fyrst  booke  of  hys  methafysyque  sayth, 
yt  euery  man  naturally  desireth  to  know  and  to  con  newe  thynges.  And 
therfore  haue  the  Clerkes  and  people  of  great  vnderstandynge  desyred 
and  coueite  to  lerned  sciences,  and  to  know  vertues  of  thinges.  Some  by 
Phylosophy,  other  by  Poetrye,  and  other  by  Historyes  and  cronyckes  of 
thynges  passed.  And  vpon  these  three  they  haue  greatly  laboured  in 
suche  y*  thanked  bee  God,  by  theyr  good  dylygence  and'  laboures :  they 
haue  had  greate  knowledge  by  innumerable  volumes  of  bookes,  whiche 
haue  be  made  and  compyled  by  great  studye  and  payne  vnto  thys  day. 
And  bycause  that  aboue  all  thinges  the  princes  and  lordes  of  hie  estate 
and  entendement  desyre  to  see  thystoryes  of  the  ryght  noble  and  hye  ver 
tues  of  the  prodecessours  whiche  ben  digne,  and  worthy  of  remembraunce 
of  perpetuall  recommendacion.  Therfore,  late  at  ye  request  and  com- 
maundement  of  the  ryght  noble  and  vertus  Erie  John  Erie  of  Oxeforde 
my  good  synguler  and  especial  lorde  I  reduced  and  translated  out  of 
Frenche  into  our  maternall  and  Englyshe  tongue,  the  lyfe  of  one  of  his 
predecessoures,  named  Robert  Erie  of  Oxeforde  tofore  sayd  w*  diuerse 
and  many  great  myracles  whiche  God  shewed  for  him  as  wel  in  his  lyfe 
as  after  his  death,  as  it  is  shewed  all  a  longe  in  hys  sayde  booke.  And 
also  that  my  sayd  Lorde  desyreth  to  haue  other  Hysterics  of  olde  tyme 
passed  of  vertues  chyualry  reduced  lykewyse  into  our  Englishe  tongue : 
he  late  sent  to  me  a  booke  in  Frenche,  conteynyng  thactes  and  faytes  of 
warre  doone  and  made  agaynst  ye  great  Emperour  and  king  of  Fraunce 
Charlemayne  by  ye  iiii  sonnes  of  Aymon,  other  wyse  named  in  Frenche 
Les  quatre  fylz  Aymon,  whyche  booke  accordynge  to  hys  request  I  haue 
endeuorde  to  accomplyshe  arid  to  reduce  it  into  our  englyshe,  to  my 
great  coste  and  charges,  as  in  the  translatinge  as  in  enprynting  of  the 
same,  hopyng  and  not  doubtyng  but  that  hys  good  grace  shall  rewarde 
me  in  suche  wise  that  I  shal  haue  cause  to  pray  for  his  good  and  pros- 
perus  welfare.  And  besechynge  his  said  noble  good  grace  to  pardon  me 
of  ye  rude  and  this  simple  worke,  For  accordynge  to  the  coppy  whyche 
he  sent  to  me,  I  haue  folowed  as  nigh  as  I  can,  and  where  as  any  defaute 
shall  be  founde  I  submyt  me  to  the  correccion  of  them  that  vnderstande 
the  cronycle  and  hystory,  besethying  them  to  correcte  it  and  amende  there 
as  they  shall  fynde  faute.  And  I  shall  praye  almighty  God  for  them  that 


t)  (Englislj  Cttcratute.  19 

so  doo  to  rewnrde  them  in  suclie  wyse  that  after  this  shorte  and  transytory 
lyfe,  we  all  may  come  to  euerlastyng  lyfe  in  heuen.     Amen. 
"  Thus  endeth  the  Prologue." 

This  introduction  is  followed  by  the  Table  of  Contents,  occupy 
ing  seven  pages,  and  the  story  commences  on  sign.  A  vi.  Her 
bert  remarked  that  the  prologue  savors  strongly  of  the  style  and 
manner  of  Caxton  :  this  is  true,  and  it  is  very  possible  that  he 
wrote  it  with  a  view  to  publication,  and  that  he  did  not  live  to 
print  the  work  he  had  translated.  We  know  that  such  was  the 
case  with  the  Vitas  Patrum,  printed  by  Wynkyn  de  Worde  in 
1495.  This  supposition  will  solve  the  whole  difficulty,  if  we  be 
lieve  that  Wynkyn  de  Worde  kept  Caxton's  manuscript  by  him 
some  years  before  he  put  it  to  press. 


ALABASTER,  WILLIAM.  —  A  Booke  of  the  Seuen  Planets, 
or  Seuen  wandring  Motiues  of  William  Alablaster's  wit, 
Retrograded  or  remoued  by  Jobn  Racster.  —  Melius  est 
claudicare  in  via  quam  currere  extra  viam.  August.  — 
At  London,  Printed  by  Peter  Short  for  Andrew  Wise, 
dwelling  in  Panics  Church-yard  at  the  signe  of  the 
Angell.  1598.  4to.  B.  L.  47  leaves. 

At  the  back  of  the  title-page  are  the  arms  of  Robert  Earl  of 
Essex,  to  whom  the  book  is  dedicated ;  and  the  writer  informs  us 
that  he  and  Alabaster  were  at  the  same  school,  Westminster,  and 
at  the  same  university,  Trin.  Coll.  Cambridge,  under  the  tuition 
of  Dr.  Still  (Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells  in  1598),  the  author  of  the 
famous  early  comedy,  "  Gammer  Gurton's  Needle." 

The  work  before  us  is  an  answer  to  what  had  been  published  by 
Alabaster  (or  Alablaster,  as  the  name  was  often  spelt)  on  his 
seven  motives  for  abandoning  the  Church  of  England,  and  be 
coming  a  Roman  Catholic.  He  is  the  man  whom  Spenser  has  so 
highly  lauded  by  name  in  his  "  Colin  Clouts  come  home  again," 
which  was  not  published  till  1595,  although  the  dedication  is  dated 
1591.  Besides  his  "  Eliseis,"  which  Spenser  mentions,  and  which 
was  a  Latin  poem  upon  Queen  Elizabeth,  Alabaster  wrote  in 


20  Bibltojjrapljkal  Account  of 

English  some  "  Divine  Meditations,"  (existing  only  in  manuscript 
of  the  time,)  consisting  of  seventeen  Sonnets,  one  of  which  may 
be  fitly  quoted  here,  because  it  is  entitled 

"  Of  his  Conversion. 
44  Away,  Feare,  with  thy  spirits !    No  falce  fire 

Which  them  dost  make  can  ought  my  corage  quale, 
Or  cause  me  leeward  come,  and  strike  my  saile. 

What  if  the  world  doe  frowne  at  my  retire  ? 

What  if  denial  doth  my  wisht  desire, 

And  purblind  pittie  doth  my  state  bewayle, 

And  wonder  crosse  it  selfe,  and  free  speech  rayle, 

And  greatnes  take  it  not,  and  death  sewe  nigher? 
Tell  them,  my  soule,  the  feare  that  makes  me  quake 
Is  smouldering  brimstone  and  the  burning  lake. 

Life-feeding  death,  ever  life  devouringe, 

Torments  not  movde,  unheard,  and  yet  still  roaring, 
God  lost,  hell  found  ever,  never  begonne, 
Now  bidd  me  into  flame,  from  smoke  to  runn." 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  Alabaster's  Latin  verse  was  bet 
ter  than  his  English,  but  his  intention  is  pretty  obvious,  and  some 
corruption  may  be  suspected.  As  the  sonnet  never  found  its  way 
into  print,  and  as  no  other  MS.  of  it  is  known  to  exist,  we  are  not 
in  a  condition  either  to  correct  the  halting  measure,  or  to  eluci 
date  the  obscure  meaning. 

Besides  Racster,  of  whom  nothing  is  known  beyond  what  he 
has  himself  told  us,  Dr.  Roger  Fenton,  in  1599,  published  another 
reply  to  Alabaster's  "  Seven  Motives " ;  and  his  perversion  to 
Popery,  considering  his  eminence  and  known  attainments  as  a 
scholar,  excited  a  sensation  among  clergy  and  laity.  He  had 
followed  the  Earl  of  Essex  to  Cadiz  in  the  capacity  of  chaplain, 
and  it  was  after  his  return  that  he  went  over  to  Rome.  Racster's 
answer  is  entirely  prose,  with  the  exception  of  the  following :  — 

"Ao  LECTOKEM  EPIGRAMMA  AUTHORIS. 
"  Pro  captu  lectoris  habent  sua  fata  libelli. 

"If  Lippus  read  my  bookes,  they  bleare-eyde  be; 

If  Linx,  all  spots,  such  eiesight  have  those  beasts. 
One  sees  too  much,  another  cannot  see: 
Meiis  tasts  of  wit  be  diverse,  as  of  feasts." 


(Engltslj  £itn*atttre.  21 

Racster  deals  very  fairly  with  Alabaster,  for  he  first  quotes  the 
"Motive,"  and  then  replies  to  it  in  detail;  but  the  argument  is 
dull  and  dry,  the  most  lively  passage  in  the  book  being  the  follow 
ing,  which  doubtless  refers  to  Lord  Chancellor  Ellesmere,  then 
Sir  Thomas  Egerton,  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal :  — 

"  It  is  a  rule  in  philosophy  that  nihil  agit  extra  sphceram  activitatis  suce, 
nothing  by  nature  can  worke  without  the  circuit  of  his  own  shop  or  worke- 
house.  The  fishes  cannot  flie  as  birdes  in  the  ayre;  neither  can  the  birds 
swim  as  the  fishes  within  the  water.  And  therefore  it  was  pretily  said  of 
a  learned  lawyer  of  this  land  unto  a  noble  warrier,  when  he  was  as  loude 
and  lust}'  in  the  Star-chamber  as  he  used  to  be  in  the  field, '  Sir,  remem 
ber  your  selfe:  we  are  not  now  in  your  element.'  " 

The  date  of  Alabaster's  birth  has  not  been  ascertained,  but 
Racster,  in  1598,  calls  him  "a  young  master  of  artes,"  and  we 
know  that  he  was  incorporated  at  Oxford  in  1592.  While  he  was 
at  Cambridge,  under  Dr.  Still,  he  wrote  a  Latin  tragedy  called 
"  Roxana,"  which  was  acted  in  the  hall  of  Trinity  College,  but  not 
printed  until  1632.  After  remaining  some  years  in  the  Church  of 
Rome,  Alabaster  reverted  to  his  old  faith,  and  died  a  Protestant, 
probably  not  long  after  he  had  printed  his  Lexicon  Pentaglotton 
in  1637. 

As  Racster  says  that  Alabaster  and  he  were  of  the  same  Col 
lege  at  Cambridge,  we  ought  to  meet  with  a  notice  of  him  in 
Cooper's  Aihence  Cantabrigienses :  Racster  is  there,  n.  271,  and 
Alabaster  may  have  been  postponed  until  the  next  volume.1 


ALMANACKS.  —  Foure  great  Lyers,  striuing  who  shall  win 
the  siluer  Whetstone.  Also  a  Resolution  to  the  countri- 
man,  prouing  it  vtterly  vnlawfull  to  buye,  or  vse  our 
yeerly  Prognostications.  Written  by  W.  P.,  &c.  —  At 

1  We  once  owned  a  valuable  MS.  which  contained,  at  the  end  of  it,  va 
rious  religious  sonnets  by  Alabaster.  Unfortunately  we  lent  the  MS.  to  a 
clergyman,  and  in  some  way,  during  the  transit,  Alabaster's  sonnets  acci 
dentally  escaped.  If  they  should  now  be  in  the  hands  of  any  bibliog 
rapher,  he  will  perhaps  remember  to  whom  they  really  belong:  they  were 
accompanied  by  some  other  rare  unprinted  poems  of  the  time. 


22  Sibliograpljical  Account  of 

London,  Printed  by  Robert  Walde-graue,  n.  d.     B.  L. 
8vo.     54  leaves. 

Under  a  humorous  title  this  is  a  serious  attack  upon  the  makers 
of  Almanacs,  then  most  frequently  called  Prognostications,  whom 
Dekker  and  others  subsequently  turned  into  ridicule.  (See  post, 
Dekker's  Raven's  Almanac.)  The  "four  great  liars "  are  indi 
cated  by  W.  P.,  under  the  initials  B.  F.  T.  and  D. ;  and  he  first 
shows  their  discordances  by  the  juxtaposition  of  their  predic 
tions,  and  afterwards,  under  the  title  of  "  a  Resolution  to  the 
countreyman,"  argues  against  the  folly  and  impiety  of  such  a 
pretended  insight  into  the  mysterious  ways  of  Providence. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  production  of  this  kind  is  a  tract 
published  by  William  Paynter,  (editor  of  the  collection  of  novels 
called  The  Palace  of  Pleasure,)  under  the  title  of  Antiprognosti- 
con.  It  is  partly  a  translation  from  the  Latin,  and  partly  an  orig 
inal  invective  against  the  professors  of  the  art  of  foretelling  the 
events  and  prospects  of  the  coming  year.  It  was  printed  by 
Henry  Sutton  in  1560,  8vo,  and  is  preceded  by  some  verses  by 
Paynter,  and  by  "  Henry  Bennet  Calesian."  Paynter's  lines  are 
curious  from  the  mention  they  make  of  Archbishop  Grindall,  as  a 
fellow-laborer  in  this  undertaking,  although  he  fell  under  Queen 
Elizabeth's  displeasure  in  1576  for  favoring  such  supposed  proph 
ecies.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  initials  W.  P.,  in  the 
title-page  at  the  head  of  the  present  article,  are  those  of  William 
Paynter,  and  that  it  was  a  renewed  attack  upon  astrologers ;  but 
we  observe  that  in  Messrs.  Cooper's  Ath.  Cantab,  n.  529,  it  is 
stated  that  William  Parys  was  the  author  of  it.  They,  however, 
spell  the  title  differently,  and  only  say  that  they  "  suppose  "  him 
to  have  written  it;  whereas  we  know  that  in  1560  Paynter  had 
published  another  tract  in  entire  accordance  with  that  the  title  of 
which  forms  the  heading  of  the  present  article.  We  are  there 
fore  strongly  inclined  to  give  the  u  Foure  great  Lyers"  also  to 
Paynter. 


AMTOT,  JAMES.  —  The  Lives  of  the  noble  Grecians  and 
Romanes,   compared   together   by   that   graue   learned 


(Karlg  (Englislj  literature.  23 

Philosopher  and  Historiographer  Plutarke  of  Chseronea. 
Translated  out  of  Greeke  into  French  by  lames  Amyot, 
Abbot  of  Bellozane,  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  one  of  the  Kings 
priuy  counsel,  and  great  Amner  of  Fraunce,  and  out  of 
French  into  Englishe  by  Thomas  North.  —  Imprinted  at 
London  by  Thomas  Vautroullier,  dwelling  in  the  Blacke 
Friers  by  Ludgate.  1579  :  folio,  595  leaves. 

The  first  edition  of  the  earliest  English  Plutarch  is  rare,  and 
this  copy  of  it  is  especially  valuable,  because  it  has  upon  the  fly 
leaf  the  only  known  autograph  of  John  Offley,  the  friend  of  Izaac 
Walton,  to  whom  the  old  fisherman  dedicated  his  "  Complete 
Angler"  in  1653.  It  is  supposed  that  Walton  lived  in  Chancery 
Lane  in  1632:  he  certainly  was  there  in  1638,  as  appears  by  a 
record,  not  hitherto  consulted,  preserved  in  Lambeth  Library :  it 
is  entitled,  "  The  Valuation  of  the  Rents  and  Tythes  of  the  Parish 
of  Saint  Dunstants  in  the  West,  London,  7°  May,  1638."  We 
there  find  a  return  made  by  the  clergyman  of  the  parish,  with 
this  heading,  followed  by  the  names  of  the  occupiers  of  each 
dwelling :  — 

"  Chauncery  Lane  within  the  Liberties  of  London. 

The  present  Tithes.    The  Annual  Rent. 
Isaac  Walton          ....        00.  11.  00  25.  00.  00 " 

With  the  exception  of  one  George  Tomlins,  Walton  lived  in  a 
house  which  paid  the  highest  rent  in  that  part  of  Chancery  Lane. 
The  clergyman  states  that  in  his  valuation  he  had  deducted  a 
fourth  part  of  the  present  rent,  so  that  Izaac  Walton's  house  really 
cost  him  £31.  5s.  per  annum.  It  seems  that  his  immediate  neigh 
bors,  as  might  be  expected,  were  persons  of  no  note,  and  the 
particular  trades  carried  on  are  not  specified.  [See  "Life  of 
Spenser,"  1862,  I.  cxxxvi.] 

"  North's  Plutarch,"  as  it  is  commonly  called,  (a  handsome  folio, 
published,  as  appears  in  MS.  figures  of  the  time,  at  26.<?.,)  was 
several  times  reprinted  in  the  same  form,  with  some  additions,  and 
with  the  same  woodcuts  of  .the  heads  of  emperors,  heroes,  &c. 
It  was  dedicated  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  North  (afterwards 
knighted)  does  not  profess  to  have  gone  farther  than  his  French 


24  Bibliograpljtcal  2Urcmnt  of 

original :  the  date  of  the  dedication  is  the  1  Gth  January,  and  of 
an  address  to  the  Reader  the  24th  January,  1579  (i.  e.  1580), 
and  in  it  North  is  again  careful  not  to  claim  the  merit  of  hav 
ing  made  any  part  of  his  version  from  the  Greek.  His  excel 
lences  as  a  translator  are  great,  and  his  English  is  pure  and  vig 
orous.  The  value  of  the  volume,  in  relation  to  Shakspeare,  can 
not  be  overstated. 

It  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  press  of  Vautroullier,  and  he  was 
no  doubt  assisted  in  it  by  Richard  Field,  (son  to  a  tanner  at  Strat- 
ford-upon-Avon,  and  afterwards  the  printer  of  Shakspeare's  "Ve 
nus  and  Adonis,"  1593,  and  "  Lucrece,"  1594,)  who,  having  been 
bound  his  apprentice  in  1579,  married  his  daughter  in  1588,  suc 
ceeded  to  his  business  in  1590,  and  used  his  device  of  the  Anchor 
suspended  by  a  hand  from  the  clouds.  [See  Shakesp.  Soc. 
Papers,  iv.  p.  36.] 

Ritson  omits  the  name  of  Sir  Thomas  North  in  his  "  Biblio- 
graphia  Poetica,"  though  well  entitled  to  a  place  there  for  the 
many  pieces  of  not  ill  translated  poetry  in  his  Plutarch.i  He 
had  produced  a  version  of  "  The  Morall  Philosophic  of  Doni " 
in  1570:  the  last  edition  we  have  seen  bears  date  in  1601,  but 
it  probably  went  through  the  press  several  times  in  the  interval. 
(See  post,  under  North.)  His  earliest  performance  was  "  The 

1  We  quote  the  following  specimen  from  his  Life  of  Cimon,  p.  533,  —  an 
inscription  on  a  column:  — 

' '  The  citizens  which  dwell  in  Athens  stately  towne 

Have  here  set  up  these  monuments  and  pictures  of  renowne, 

To  honour  so  the  facts,  and  celebrate  the  fame, 

Their  valliant  chieftaines  did  achieve  in  many  a  marshall  game  ; 

That  such  as  after  come,  when  they  thereby  perceive 

How  men  of  service  for  their  deedes  did  rich  rewards  receive, 

Encouraged  may  be  such  men  for  to  resemble 

In  valliant  acts  and  dreadfull  deedes,  which  make  their  foes  to  tremble." 

In  an  earlier  Life,  that  of  Alcibiades,  p.  219,  North  thus  quotes  an 
attack  by  Aristophanes :  — 

"  For  state  or  common  weale  muche  better  should  it  be 

To  keepe  within  the  countrie  none  suche  lyons  lookes  as  he : 
But  if  they  nedes  will  keepe  a  lyon  to  their  cost, 
Then  must  they  nedes  obeye  his  will,  for  he  will  rule  the  roste." 
We  have  taken  these  specimens  quite  at  random,  as  we  happened  to 
open  the  fine  well  printed  volume. 


(fnglislj  literature.  25 

Dial  of  Princes,"  from  Antony  Guevara,  first  printed  in  1568,  and 
again  in  1582.  Messrs.  Cooper  (Ath.  Cantab,  n.  350)  by  over 
sight  state  that  the  date  of  North's  dedication  of  his  "  Plutarch  " 
is  17  Jan.  1591,  instead  of  16  Jan.  1579. 


ANAGRAMS.  —  Anagrammata  Regia.  In  Honorem  Maximi 
et  Mansuetissimi  Regis  Caroli  conscripta.  Quibus  Hero- 
ica  quaedam  siibnectimtur.  Opusculum  Regiis  Nuptiis 
destinatum.  Nunc  vero  Auctoris  opera  auctum  et 
emandatum.  1626.  4to.  60  leaves. 

This  work  is  in  Latin  and  English,  and  by  an  anagram  upon 
the  name  of  the  author  at  the  end,  "  I  pen  hony,"  we  are  led  to 
suppose  that  it  was  John  Peny,  or  perhaps  Penny.  By  a  chrono 
gram  at  the  foot  of  the  title,  it  appears  that  it  was  printed  in  1626, 
and  by  another  on  sign.  E  3,  that  it  was  published  by  William 
Stansble  :  Extant  ista  in  cedibus  Gulielmi  Stansble.  \_Forsan  Stans- 
bie.]  The  words  auctum  et  emendatum  seem  to  show  that  it  had 
appeared  earlier,  but  no  other  copy,  even  of  this  edition,  has  oc 
curred.  It  is  a  very  elaborate  and  tedious  trifle,  and  could  have 
had  no  sale,  having  been  printed,  probably,  more  for  the  gratifi 
cation  of  the  writer  than  of  the  reader. 

The  first  eighteen  leaves  are  filled  by  complimentary  anagrams 
to  the  king  and  to  the  principal  nobility,  followed  by  this  ad 
dress  :  —  "  Typographus  Lectori :  Si  placebunt  quse  precedunt 
Anagrammata  jucundissima,  Auctoris  Epigrammata  tibi  non  in- 
videbo."  The  epigrams  are,  however,  far  from  meriting  the  praise 
bestowed  upon  the  anagrams,  and  they  are  divided  into  Heligiosa, 
Officiosa,  and  Jocosa :  here  the  author  makes  the  ordinary  ex 
cuse  for  publication,  viz.,  that  he  sent  them  to  the  press  propio- 
rum  amicorum  jussu.  The  religious  epigrams  are  all  of  a  pious 
character :  those  in  the  next  division  of  the  work  are  addressed 
to  persons  in  office.  One  or  two  specimens  of  the  epigrammata 
jocosa,  most  of  which  are  in  Latin  only,  others  in  Latin  and 
English,  and  some  in  English,  may  be  given:  — 


26  Bibliographical  2Urotmt  of 

"  To  a  certaine  Writer. 

"  Halfe  of  your  Booke  is  to  an  Index  growne: 
You  giue  your  Booke  Contents,  your  readers  none." 

"  Of  Robertus. 

"  Robertus  when  he  saw  Thieves  hanged,  then 
Hee  said,  I  'le  take  example  by  those  men; 
And  so  he  did,  for  at  the  next  Assize 
He  mounts  the  same  Tree  for  three  robberies." 

The  following  has  often  been  repeated  since,  and  probably  was 
not  new  in  1626. 

"  Of  a  Schoolemaster  and  his  Schotter. 
"  A  Pedant  ask'd  a  Puny,  rife  and  bold, 
In  a  hard  frost,  the  Latin  word  for  cold, 
lie  tell  you  out  of  hand,  (quoth  he)  for  loe! 
I  have  it  at  my  fingers'  ends,  you  know." 

The  two  following  are  interesting  on  account  of  the  poets  to 
whom  they  relate.     Hall  was  made  Bishop  of  Exeter  in  1627. 

"  To  Dr.  Hall  Dean  of  Worcester. 

"  You  in  high  straines  have  sung  Gods  Heavenly  grace?, 
Which  you  shall  sound  in  high  and  Heavenly  places. 
Sweet  Hall,  what  Hallelujahs  shall  you  sing 
In  Heavens  high  Quire  to  the  eternall  King." 

"  Samuel  Daniel. 
"Diceris  egregius  duplici  tu  nomine  Vates; 

Quam  sanctus  Samuel,  quam  sapiens  Daniel. 

Romanum  superare  potes,  me  Judice,  Vatem ; 

Non  tibi  lasciva  est  Pagina,  Vita  proba  est." 

This  must  have  been  written  before  the  death  of  Daniel,  which 
happened  at  Beckington  in  October,  1619. 


ANATOMY  OF  THE  WORLD.  —  An  Anatomy  of  the  World. 
Wherein  by  occasion  of  the  untimely  death  of  Mistris 
Elizabeth  Drury,  the  frailty  and  the  decay  of  this  whole 
world  is  represented.  —  London,  Printed  for  Samuel 


(Englislj  filtcrato.  27 

Macham,  and  are  to  be  solde  at  his  shop  in  Panics 
Church-yard,  at  the  signe  of  the  Bui-head.  An.  Dom. 
1611.  8vo.  16  leaves. 

This  is  an  earlier  edition  than  any  hitherto  discovered,  that  of 
1612  being  the  first  mentioned  by  bibliographers ;  and  it  was  pub 
lished  anonymously  in  four  distinct  impressions,  viz.,  of  1611, 161 2, 
1621,  and  1625,  before  it  was  included  in  the  4to  volume  of  the 
"  Poems"  of  Dr.  Donne,  published  in  1633,  after  his  death.  The 
subject  of  the  tribute  before  us  was  the  daughter  of  Sir  Robert 
Drury,  with  whom  Donne  for  some  time  resided,  and  whom  he 
accompanied  to  Paris.  In  a  letter  dated  from  Paris,  14th  April, 
1612,  Donne  mentions  that  the  "Anatomy  of  the  World"  had 
been  printed.  The  copy  at  Bridgewater  House  consists  of  only 
15  leaves ;  but  sign.  A  is  a  fly-leaf,  existing  in  another  copy  of 
1611  very  recently  recovered,  and  making  the  whole  tract  16 
leaves,  or  two  8vo  sheets. 

Donne  was  at  one  period,  before  his  marriage  with  the  daughter 
of  Sir  George  Moore,  Secretary  to  Lord  Chancellor  Ellesmere ; 
and  some  documents  subscribed  by  Donne  are  preserved  among 
the  MSS.  at  Bridgewater  House. 

The  variations  between  the  first  edition  of  these  poems  in  1611 
(printed,  perhaps,  only  for  private  distribution)  and  that  in  1633 
are  not  many,  and  they  are  rarely  of  importance  ;  but  there  is  an 
exception  in  the  very  last  line  of  what  is  placed  under  the  heading 
"The  Anatomy  of  the  World."  In  the  edition  of  1611  it  runs 
thus :  — 

"  The  grave  keeps  bodies,  verse  the  same  enroules; " 

and  the  misprint,  by  mistaking  the  long  s  and  /,  might  not  be  de 
tected,  if  we  did  not  refer  to  the  4to  of  1633,  where  it  stands  as 
follows :  — 

"  The  Grave  keepes  bodies,  Verse  the  Fame  enroules." 

Dr.  Donne  was  a  poet  before  he  had  attained  his  twentieth 
year ;  for  although  his  Satires  are  not  known  to  have  been  printed 
until  1633,  some  of  them  were  written  forty  years  earlier,  and  a 
MS.  copy  dated  1593  is  preserved  in  the  British  Museum  —  [MS. 
Harl.  5110].  From  what  he  says  in  one  of  his  letters  dated  in 


28  33ibltograpljical  2Uromtt  of 

1614,  and  from  other  circumstances,  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
a  now  lost  edition  of  his  Satires  was  not  then  privately  circulated. 
Francis  Davison,  editor  of  "  The  Poetical  Rhapsody  "  (1 602, 1608, 
1611,  and  1621),  who  died  before  1620,  records  in  an  undated 
memorandum,  that  he  had  lent  a  copy  of  "  J.  Dun's  Satyres  "  to 
his  brother  Christopher.*  This  copy  might,  however,  have  been 
a  manuscript.  They  were  sons  to  poor  scape-goat  William  Da 
vison,  who  was  sacrificed  for  accomplishing  the  wish  of  Q.  Eliza 
beth,  as  regarded  the  death  of  Mary  of  Scotland. 


ANSWER.  —  An  Aunswere  to  the  Proclamation  of  the 
Rebels  in  the  North.  1569.  —  Imprinted  at  London  by 
Willyam  Seres.  Cum  Privilegio.  8vo.  B.  L.  10  leaves. 

We  apprehend  that  we  have  to  add  a  new  name  to  the  list  of 
our  early  writers  of  verse,  in  the  person  of  William  Seres,  the 
printer,  who  here  put  forth  a  production  of  his  own  on  the  subject 
of  the  Rebellion  in  the  North  in  1569  :  it  is  of  extreme  rarity,  and 
has  hitherto  been  given  to  Thomas  Norton,  merely  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  unquestionably  the  author  of  an  address,  in  prose,  "  To 
the  Queene's  Majesties  poore  deceiued  Subjectes  of  the  North 
Countrey."  That,  however,  was  printed  by  Bynneman,  and  not 

1  In  1614  Thomas  Freeman  printed  a  collection  of  Epigrams,  &c.,  under 
the  title  of  "  Rubbe  and  a  great  Cast,"  which  contains  the  following  upon 
Donne,  (or  Dunne,  as  the  name  is  there  spelt,)  from  which  we  may  safely 
infer  that,  at  that  date,  he  had  printed  various  poems,  including  some  or 
all  of  his  Satires,  which  Freeman  complains  were  too  brief. 

"  Epigram  84.     To  John  Dunne. 
"  Thy  Stonne  describ'd  hath  set  thy  name  afloate  ; 
Thy  Calme  a  gale  of  famous  winde  hath  got ; 
Thy  Satyres  short,  too  soone  we  them  o'erlooke  : 
I  prethee,  Persius,  write  a  bigger  booke." 

"The  Storme,"  in  the  edition  of  1633,  p.  56,  is  dedicated  "to  Mr. 
Christopher  Brooke,"  and  it  is  immediately  followed  by  li  The  Calme." 
The  Satires  contain  many  proofs  that  they  were  written  while  Elizabeth 
was  on  the  throne.  In  a  copy  of  the  impression  of  1633,  now  before  us, 
the  blanks  are  filled  up  in  a  handwriting  of  about  the  time. 


i)  QEnglislj  literature.  29 

by  Seres,  who,  at  the  end  of  the  piece  before  us,  thus  placed  his 
own  initials  — 

"  FINIS  qd(\V.  S.) 
God  saue  the  Queene." 

William  Seres,  as  the  printer,  would  hardly  have  made  his  own 
initials  thus  conspicuous,  if  they  had  not  been  intended  to  prove 
that  he  was  the  author.  He  entered  the  "Answer  "  in  his  own 
name  at  Stationers'  Hall,  and  it  does  no  discredit  to  his  skill  as  a 
versifier,  or  to  his  loyalty  as  a  subject.  It  is  not  mentioned  by 
Ames,  Herbert,  or  Dibdin  among  works  from  the  press  of  Seres, 
but  in  their  time  a  copy  of  it  was  known  :  to  present  it  as  the  work 
of  so  distinguished  an  early  typographer  gives  it  additional  in 
terest. 

It  opens,  as  follows,  in  lines  of  fourteen  syllables  divided,  and 
with  rhyme  at  the  end  of  the  eight-syllable  line,  as  well  as  at  the 
end  of  the  six-syllable  line. 

"  0  Lorde !  stretch  out  thy  mightie  hande 

against  this  raging  route, 
And  saue  our  Prince,  our  state  and  land, 

which  they  doe  go  about 
For  to  subuert  and  ouerthrowe, 

and  make  this  Realme  a  pray 
For  other  Nations  here  to  growe, 

what  so,  like  fooles,  they  say." 

Seres  does  not  keep  up  this  inconvenient  multiplication  of 
rhymes,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  subsequent  portion  of  the  "Answer  " 
to  the  sixth  Article  of  the  Proclamation  of  the  Rebels :  — 

"  You  say  hir  Grace  is  led  by  such 

as  -wicked  are  and  euill : 
By  whom,  I  pray  you,  are  ye  led? 

I  may  say,  by  the  Deuill. 
Whom  would  ye  poynt  to  leade  hir  Grace, 

if  ye  might  haue  your  choyse  ? 
The  Pope,  I  thinke,  your  father  chiefe, 

should  haue  your  holy  voyse ; 
And  then  she  should  be  led,  indeede, 

as  Lambe  for  to  be  slaine. 
Wo  worth  such  heades,  as  so  would  fee 

hir  Grace  for  all  hir  paine!  " 


30  Sibltograpljiral  Account  of 

Some  twenty,  or  more,  passages  might  be  quoted  from  authors 
before  Shakspeare,  in  illustration  ol  his  concluding  lines  in 
"  King  John," 

"  Nought  shall  make  us  rue, 
If  England  to  itself  do  rest  but  true;  " 

and  Seres  shows  us  that  the  sentiment,  if  not  the  expression,  was, 
in  fact,  proverbial :  — 

"  A  Proverbe  olde,  no  lande  there  is 

that  can  this  lande  subdue, 
If  we  agree  within  our  selues, 
and  to  our  Realme  be  true." 

The  whole  is  written  with  facility,  and  the  poem  concludes 
quite  as  well  as  it  began,  continuing  the  address  to  the  Rebels :  — 

"  Bethinke  your  selues,  and  take  aduice, 

and  speedily  repent: 
Accept  the  pardon  of  the  Prince, 

when  it  to  you  is  sent. 
So  may  you  saue  your  bodies  yet, 

your  soules,  and  eake  your  good, 
And  stay  the  Deuill,  that  hopes  by  you 

to  spill  much  Christian  blood. 
God  saue  our  Queene,  and  keepe  in  peace 

this  Hand  evermore, 
So  shall  we  render  vnto  him 

eternall  thanks  therefore." 

It  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  that  Seres  afterwards  obtained 
for  himself  and  his  son,  through  the  interest  of  Lord  Burghley, 
the  renewal  of  his  patent  (of  which  he  had  been  deprived  by 
Queen  Mary)  "for  the  printing  of  all  primers  and  psalters." 


ANTIDOTE  AGAINST  MELANCHOLY.  —  An  Antidote  against 
Melancholy  :  Made  up  in  Pills.  Compounded  of  Witty 
Ballads,  Jovial  Songs  and  Merry  Catches. 

These  witty  Poems  though   sometime  may  seem  to  halt   on 

crutches, 
Yet  they'l  all  merrily  please  you  for  your  charge,  which  not 

much  is. 


(fngltsfj  Citerature.  31 

Printed  by  Mer.  Melancbolicus,  to  be  sold  in  London 
and  Westminster.     1GG1.     4to.     40  leaves. 

This  is  clearly  a  Shakspearean  book,  not  only  because  it  men 
tions  Falstaff  by  name,  but  because  it  contains  two  "  Catches," 
one  of  which  is  as  follows :  part  of  it,  as  all  will  remember,  is  sung 
by  Autolycus  in  "  The  Winter's  Tale,"  A.  IV.  sc.  2. 

"Jog  on,  jog  on,  the  Foot  path-way, 

And  merrily  hen't  the  stile-a; 
Your  merry  heart  go'es  all  the  day, 

Your  sad  tires  in  a  mile-a, 
Your  paltry  mony  bags  of  Gold 

What  need  have  we  to  stare  for, 
When  little  or  nothing  soon  is  told, 

And  we  have  the  less  to  care  for? 
Cast  care  away;  let  sorrow  cease, 

A  Figg  for  Melancholly ! 
Let's  laugh  and  sing,  or  if  you  please, 

We'l  frolick  with  sweet  Dolly." 

Shakspeare  only  introduces  the  four  first  lines,  but,  as  we  see, 
there  are  eight  others  that  belong  to  the  same  catch.  Isaac  Reed 
tells  that  the  four  first  lines  are  found  on  p.  69  of  "  the  Antidote 
against  Melancholy  "  ;  but  they  occur  in  fact  on  p.  73. 

The  other  Catch  is  mentioned  in  "Twelfth  Night,"  A.  II.  sc.  3, 
where  Sir  Toby  Belch  says,  "  Malvolio  's  a  Peg-a-Ramsey,  and 
three  merry  men  be  we  :  "  there  were  several  sets  of  words  to  the 
same  tune,  and  in  the  work  before  us  they  are  thus  given : 

"  The  Wisemen  were  but  seven,  ne're  more  shall  be  for  me ; 
The  Muses  were  but  nine,  the  Worthies  three  times  three : 

And  three  merry  boyes,  and  three  merry  boyes  are  we. 

The  Vertues  were  but  seven,  and  three  the  greater  be; 
The  Caesars  they  were  twelve,  and  the  fatal  sisters  three: 

And  three  merry  Girles,  and  three  merry  Girles  are  we." 

Chappell,  in  his  admirable  work  on  "  English  Song  and  Ballad 
Music,"  gives  different  words  on  different  authority,  and  does  not 
there  refer  to  the  "  Antidote  against  Melancholy,"  which,  how 
ever,  he  had  met  with.  The  mention  of  Falstaff  occurs  on 


32  Dibltograpljtcal  Account  of 

p.  72  in  a  Catch,  the  first  stanza  of  which  runs  thus  character 
istically  :  — 

"  Wilt  thou  be  fatt,  He  tell  thee  how 

Thou  shalt  quickly  do  the  feat, 
And  that  so  plump  a  thing  as  thou 

Was  never  yet  made  up  of  meat. 
Drink  off  thy  Sack !  'twas  onely  that 
Made  Bacchus  and  Jack  Falstafe  fatt,  fatt." 

We  are  without  information  by  whom  this  collection  of  Poems, 
Ballads,  Songs,  and  Catches  was  made ;  but  Thomas  Durfey, 
about  sixty  years  afterwards,  imitated  the  title,  when  he  called 
his  six  volumes  "  Wit  and  Mirth,  or  Pills  to  purge  Melancholy," 
8vo,  1719-20.  This  "  Antidote  against  Melancholy,  made  up  in 
Pills,"  has  not  been  anywhere  correctly  described  :  we  shall  there 
fore  be  more  particular  as  to  its  contents,  beginning  by  stating 
that  on  the  title-page  is  a  very  pretty  engraving  in  two  compart 
ments,  one  above  the  other,  representing  different  classes,  gentry 
and  peasantry  drinking  and  carousing,  the  first  attended  by  two 
fiddlers,  and  the  last  by  a  bag-piper.  No  engraver's  name  is  ap 
pended,  but  it  is  in  a  superior  style  of  art,  and  quite  as  neat  as 
anything  by  Marshall.  Following  the  title-page  is  an  address  "  To 
the  Reader,"  in  triplets  subscribed  N.  D.,  at  the  back  of  which  is  a 
list  of  "  Ballads,  Songs,  and  Catches  in  this  Book,"  twenty-three 
in  number,  besides  "  forty  more  merry  Catches  and  Songs." 

There  are,  in  fact,  only  thirty-four  "  merry  Catches  and  Songs," 
the  last  numbered  thirty-three  ;  but  it  is  properly  thirty-four,  as 
twenty-two  is  twice  repeated:  they  occupy  the  last  twelve  pages. 

With  reference  to  No.  5  in  the  list  of  Contents,  "  The  Ballad 
on  the  Wedding  of  Arthur  of  Bradley,"  it  may  be  remarked  that 
nobody  appears  to  have  been  aware  of  the  great  antiquity  of  it : 
it  is  older  than  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  it  is  a 
scrap  of  a  song  introduced  by  Idleness,  the  Vice,  in  the  Morality  of 
"  The  Marriage  of  Wit  and  Wisdom,"  which  has  come  down  to  us 
in  a  manuscript  dated  1579  :  the  character  of  the  drama,  however, 
carries  us  back  to  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  or  even  earlier,  and 
"  the  Kings  most  royal  Majesty  "  is  mentioned  in  it.  The  oldest 
notice  of"  Arthur  of  Bradley  "  hitherto  pointed  out  is  in  Dekker's 
"  Honest  Whore,"  1604  :  Ben  Jonson  speaks  of  it  in  his  "  Barthol- 


t)  (£nglislj  £tteratur*.  33 

omew  Fair,"  1614 ;  Brathwaite,  in  his  "  Strappado  for  the  Devil," 
in  1615,  and  two  lines  from  it  are  cited  in  Gayton's  u  Festivous 
Notes  on  Don  Quixote,"  1654.  Ritson,  when  he  printed  it  in  his 
"  Robin  Hood  "  (Vol.  ii.  p.  210),  was  not  aware  what  high  claims 
it  possesses  as  one  of  the  most  ancient  productions  of  the  kind  in 
our  language.  Of  course,  in  all  the  copies  that  have  come  down 
to  us  it  is  much  modernized  and  corrupted,  but  the  following 
words,  from  "  The  Marriage  of  Wit  and  Wisdom,"  show  that  no 
other  popular  production  could  there  be  intended  :  — 

"  For  the  honour  of  Artre  Bradle, 
This  age  wold  make  me  swere  madly." 

These  are  words  often  repeated  in  the  Ballad,  as  we  find  it  in 
the  "Antidote  against  Melancholy,"  p.  16,  where  it  fills  more  than 
three  pages.  We  wish  that  we  had  space  for  it. 

If  N.  D.,  whose  initials  are  at  the  end  of  the  rhyming  address 
"  to  the  Reader,"  were  the  person  who  made  the  selection,  we  are 
•without  any  other  clue  to  his  name.  There  is  no  ground  for  im 
puting  it  to  Thomas  Jordan,  excepting  that  he  was  accustomed  to 
deal  in  productions  of  this  class  ;  but  the  songs  and  ballads  he 
printed  were  usually  of  his  own  composition,  and  not  the  works  of 
anterior  versifiers. 


APE,  THE  ENGLISH.  —  The  English  Ape,  the  Italian  imita 
tion,  the  Foote-steppes  of  Fraunce.  Wherein  is  ex- 
planed  the  wilfull  blindnesse  of  subtill  mischiefe,  the 
striuing  for  Starres,  the  catching  of  Mooneshine,  and  the 
secrete  sounde  of  many  hollowe  heartes.  By  W.  R. 
Nulla  pietas  prams.  —  At  London,  Imprinted  by  Robert 
Robinson  dwelling  in  Feter  Lane  neere  Holborne,  1588- 
4to.  B.  L.  16  leaves. 

This  extraordinarily  scarce  tract  has  been  attributed  to  W. 
Rankin  ;  but  a  copy  (the  only  perfect  one  we  ever  saw)  now  be 
fore  us,  has  the  initials  W.  R.,  at  the  end  of  the  dedication  to  Sir 
Christopher  Hatton,  filled  up  in  old  MS.  with  "  W.  Rowly."  Now 

VOL.  I.  3 


34  Bibliographical  Account  of 

the  earliest  known  work  by  Rowley  bears  date  in  1609,  whereas 
Rankin,  or  Rankins,  (see  post,  under  RANKIN,)  was  an  author  in 
1587,  and  his  first  extant  production  is  not,  in  style,  very  dis 
similar  to  "  The  English  Ape."  In  the  dedication  of  it  he  men 
tions  a  still  earlier  performance,  viz.,  "  my  roughcast  Conceit  of 
Hell,"  which  he  had  also  inscribed  to  Hatton,  and  of  which  we 
have  no  trace  unless,  as  is  possible,  he  means  his  "  Mirrour  of 
Monsters "  under  that  singular  title.  Whether  "  The  English 
Ape  "  be  really  by  Rankin,  or  by  any  other  writer  with  the  same 
initials,  we  are  therefore  unable  to  decide.  In  the  first  page  of 
it  he  refers  to  some  work  by  him  which  had  already  failed  to  rouse 
"  the  generall  sort  "  from  their  "  dull  silence,"  which  could  hardly 
have  been  the  case  with  his  "  Mirrour  of  Monsters."  Though 
Rankin  was  subsequently  a  writer  of  many  verses,  there  is  not  a 
scrap  of  poetry  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  "  English 
Ape." 

It  is  entirely  directed  against  the  proneness  of  the  people  of 
this  country  to  imitate  and  adopt  the  peculiarities  and  fashions  of 
continental  nations,  especially  of  the  Italians  :  —  "  There  is  not," 
he  says,  "  a  vice  particularly  noted  in  any  country,  but  the  English 
man  will  be  therein  as  exquisite,  as  if  he  had  Nature  at  command 
for  every  enormity.  If  he  be  in  Creete  he  can  lye,  if  in  Italy 
flatter,  if  in  Fraunce  boast,  if  in  Scotland  cloke  the  treachery  of 
pretended  treason  ;  which  having  gathered,  and  fraught  him  selfe 
full  of  this  wealthy  treasure,  he  lovingly  bringeth  his  merchandize 
into  his  native  Country,  and  there  storeth  with  instruction  the  false 
affectors  of  this  tedious  trash." 

The  invective  is  not  so  violent  and  vehement  as  it  is  affected, 
overwrought,  and  disjointed  ;  from  one  end  of  the  tract  to  the 
other  we  look  in  vain  for  anything  but  the  most  general  abuse, 
illustrated  by  very  commonplace  examples  drawn  entirely  from 
ancient  history.  In  one  paragraph,  however,  he  breaks  out  against 
Englishwomen  in  these  terms :  — 

"It  is  a  woonder  more  than  ordinary  to  beholde  theyr  periwigs  of  sun 
dry  collours,  theyr  paynting  potts  of  perlesse  perfiimes,  theyr  boxes  of 
slibber  sauce,  the  sleaking  of  theyr  faces,  theyr  strayned  modesty  and 
theyr  counterfayte  coynesse.  In  so  much  that  they  rather  seeme  Curty- 
zans  of  Venyce,  then  matrones  of  Englande,  monsters  of  ^Egypt  then 


s  OFnglisIj  f  iterator*.  35 

modest  maydens  of  Europe,  inchaunting  Syrens  of  Syrtes  then  diligent 
searchers  of  vertue:  these  inchauntments  charme  away  theyr  modesty, 
and  entrap  fooles  in  folly;  bewitcheth  them  selves  wyth  wanton  wyles, 
and  besotteth  other  with  these  bitter  smyles." 

We  conclude  that  "  these  bitter  smiles  "  ought  to  be  "  their  bit 
ter  smiles,"  but  it  is  not  always  easy  to  see  at  what  the  author  is 
driving  in  his  accumulation  of  accusations,  and  he  does  not  pre 
tend  to  offer  any  cure  for  the  evils  he  points  out.  It  may  deserve 
remark,  as  a  matter  of  language,  that  while  he  delights  much  in 
new-fangled  words,  he  is  old-fashioned  enough  to  use  the  Saxon 
plural  for  houses,  viz.,  housen,  in  several  places.  Before  his  con 
clusion,  he  cautiously  admits  that,  notwithstanding  all  he  has  ad 
vanced,  "  there  are  in  England  many  modest  wise,  godly  virgines, 
wyves  and  widowes,"  and  he  especially  directs  admiration  to 
Queen  Elizabeth,  "  endelesse  in  glory,  and  matchlesse  in  mortall 
majesty."  He  winds  up  with  an  exhortation  precisely  in  the  same 
style  as  all  the  rest  of  the  pamphlet,  excepting  that  he  intermixes 
a  considerable  spice  of  religious  enthusiasm.  There  may  have 
been  two  W.  Rankins,  one  who  wrote  in  1587,  and  the  other  who 
wrote  in  1598. 


ARMIN,  ROBERT.  —  A  true  Discourse  of  the  practises  of 
Elizabeth  Caldwell,  Ma.  Jeffrey  Bownd,  Isabell  Hall, 
widdow,  and  George  Fernely,  on  the  parson  of  Ma. 
Thomas  Caldwell,  in  the  County  of  Chester,  to  haue 
murdered  and  poysoned  him  with  diners  others,  &c. 
Written  by  one  then  present  as  witnes,  their  owne 
Country-man,  Gilbert  Dugdale.  —  At  London,  Printed 
by  lames  Roberts  for  John  Busbie,  and  are  to  be  sold  at 
his  shop  vnder  Saint  Peters  Church  in  Cornewell.  1604. 
4to.  B.  L.  16  leaves. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Armin,  the  actor,  was  really  the  author 
of  this  tract,  and  he  prefixed  an  epistle  stating  as  much,  though 


36  Bibltograpljtcal  ^laottnt  of 

he  found  it  convenient  to  put  the  name  of  "  his  kinsman,"  Gilbert 
Dugdale,  to  it :  Dugdale  had  been  a  witness  on  the  remarkable 
trial  to  which  it  refers,  in  which  a  wife,  Elizabeth  Caldwell,  was 
accused  of  attempting  to  murder  her  husband  at  the  instigation 
of  Jeffrey  Bownd,  her  paramour,  and  with  the  aid  of  George 
Fernely. 

We  need  not  here  enter  into  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  but 
it  was  thought  that  if  Armin  (who  had  been  "  a  common  pam 
phleteer,"  as  Gabriel  Harvey  called  him,  in  1593)  wrote  an  epis 
tolary  preface  to  the  statement  of  them,  it  would  materially  in 
crease  the  sale.  So  much  read  and  thumbed  was  it,  that  only  a 
few  copies  of  the  tract  have  reached  our  day.  Armin  had  been 
at  one  time  (see  his  "  Nest  of  Ninnies,"  1608)  a  player  in  the 
company  of  Lord  Chandos,  (or  Shandoys,  as  he  spells  it,)  and  it 
was  to  his  widow,  ".Lady  Mary  Chandos,"  that  he  addressed  his 
prefatory  letter,  regarding  the  crime  and  execution  of  Elizabeth 
Caldwell  and  others,  in  June,  1603.  After  briefly  adverting  to 
the  facts,  he  proceeds  thus,  and  it  is  the  only  passage  that,  for  our 
purpose,  is  worth  quoting  :  — 

"  We  have  many  giddie  pated  Poets  that  coulde  have  published  this 
Report  with  more  eloquence,  but  truth  in  plaine  attire  is  easier  knowne : 
let  fixion  maske  in  Kendall  greene.  It  is  my  qualitie  to  adde  truth  to 
truth,  and  not  leasing  to  lyes.  Your  good  Honour  knowes  Pinck's  poore 
hart,  who  in  all  my  services  to  your  late  deceased  kind  Lord  never  sa 
voured  of  flatterie  or  fixion ;  and  therefore  am  now  the  bolder  to  present  to 
your  vertues  the  view  of  this  late  truth,  desiring  you  to  thinke  of  it,  that 
you  may  be  an  honourable  mourner  at  these  obsequies,  and  you  shall  no 
more  doe  then  manie  more  have  doone.  So,  with  my  tendered  dutie,  my 
true  ensuing  storie,  and  my  euer  wishing  well,  I  do  humbly  commit  your 
Ladiship  to  the  prison  .of  heauen,  wherein  is  perfect  freedome. 
Your  Ladiships  ever  in  duty  and  service, 

ROBERT  ARMIN." 

Here  we  see  that  he  terms  the  narrative  "  my  true  ensuing 
storie,"  so  that  we  are  entitled  to  look  upon  the  pamphlet  as  the 
production  of  one  of  Shakspeare's  fellow-performers,  who  suc 
ceeded  to  Dogberry  and  to  several  of  Kempe's  other  characters, 
after  the  latter,  on  the  accession  of  James  I.,  had  gone  over  to  the 
company  calling  itself  "  the  Prince's  Players."  In  the  patent 


<2ngli0l)  Citaatur*.  87 

granted  to  Fletcher,  Shakspeare,  and  others,  in  May,  1603,  we 
find  the  name  of  Robert  Armin  substituted,  as  it  were,  for  that  of 
William  Kempe. 


ARNOLD'S  CHRONICLE.  —  In  this  boke  is  conteined  ye 
names  of  the  baylyfs  Custose  mayers  and  sherefs  of  ye 
cyte  of  london  from  the  tyme  of  kynge  Richard  the 
fyrst,  &  also  the  artycles  of  ye  Chartour  and  lybartyes  of 
the  same  Cyte,  And  of  the  chartour  and  lybartyes  of 
England,  with  other  dyuers  maters  good  and  necessary 
for  euery  cytezen  to  vnderstond  and  knowe.  n.  d.  B. 
L.  fol.  133  leaves. 

This  is  the  edition  of  Arnold's  Chronicle,  which,  though  without 
his  name,  came  from  the  press  of  Peter  Treveris,  who  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  first  printer  who  carried  on  business  in  Southwark. 
Dr.  Dibdin  does  not  seem  to  have  made  up  his  mind  whether  this 
edition  by  Treveris  was  the  earliest,  or  whether  it  had  been  pre 
viously  printed  by  John  Doesborowe  at  Antwerp  ;  for,  on  p.  34, 
of  Vol.  III.  of  his  "  Typographical  Antiquities,"  he  speaks  of  Does- 
borowe's  edition  as  "  the  second,"  and  inserts,  in  a  note  on  p.  35, 
the  statement  of  the  late  Mr.  Douce,  that  Treveris  printed  the 
second  edition.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  latter  is  the  correct 
conclusion. 

It  is  only  from  similarity  of  type  that  it  has  been  decided  to  be 
the  work  of  Treveris,  and  not  of  Pynson,  as  Ames  supposed. 
The  date  has  been  fixed  in  1521,  from  the  following  paragraph  at 
the  end  of  the  list  of  the  mayors  and  sheriffs  of  London  :  — 

"  This  yere  Galy  halfpens  was  banysshed  out  of  england,  &  whete  was 
worthe  xviij.  s.  a  quarter.  And  this  yere  one  Luther  was  accowntyd  an 
eretyck  and  on  sonday  that  was  the  xii  day  of  Maij,  in  the  presence  of 
the  lorde  legate  and  many  other  bysshops  and  lordys  of  england,  the  sayd 
Luther  was  openly  declared  an  heretyck  at  powlys  crosse,  and  all  his 
bokes  burnyd." 

On  sign.  O  vi.,  commences  the  celebrated  ballad  of  "  The  Not- 
browne  Mayde,"  which  Prior  modernized,  and  which,  with  some 


38  JJtbliograpljtcal  ^Ucoitnt  of 

inaccuracies,  was  inserted  by  Capel  in  his  Prolusions,  p.  3.  Mr. 
Douce  superintended  a  reprint  of  the  whole  chronicle  from  the 
edition  of  Doesborowe,  but  even  he,  with  all  his  exactness,  made 
trifling  mistakes  when  giving  the  ballad.  In  the  edition  by  Tre- 
veris,  it  frequently  varies  typographically  from  the  impression  by 
Doesborowe.  Capel  divided  the  lines  differently,  but  in  the  orig 
inal,  and  in  the  second  edition  before  us,  they  stand  precisely  in 
this  manner:  — 

"  Be  it  right  or  wr5g,  these  me  amog.  on  woma  do  complayne 
Affyrmynge  this,  how  that  it  is.     A  labour  spent  in  vayne 
To  loue  the  well,  for  neuer  a  dele.     They  loue  a  ma  agayne. 
For  late  a  man,  do  what  he  can.  theyr  fauour  to  attayne 
Yet  3rf  a  newe,  to  them  pursue,  theyr  fyrst  true  louer  than 
Laboureth  for  nought,  for  from  her  tought  he  is  a  banysshed  man." 

This  form  of  stanza  is  peculiar  to  this  ballad,  and  no  other 
poem  which  exactly  adopts  it  is  known.  It  seems  agreed  that 
"  The  Nut-brown  Maid  "  is  not  older  than  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  though  Hearne,  in  one  of  his  letters,  printed  in 
Restituta,  i.  p.  70,  would  carry  it  back  to  the  time  of  Henry  V.,  and 
Dr.  Percy  (Reliques,  ii.  p.  26,  Edit.  1765)  to  the  early  part  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII. 


ARTHUR.  —  The  storye  of  the  most  noble  and  worthy 
Kynge  Arthur,  the  which  was  the  fyrst  of  the  worthyes 
Chrysten,  and  also  of  hys  noble  and  valyaunt  knyghtes 
of  the  rounde  Table.  Newly  imprynted  and  corrected. 
—  Imprynted  at  London  by  Thomas  East.  n.  d.  B.  L. 
fol.  307  leaves. 

A  rare  edition  of  the  Mort  Arthur,  which  work  came  originally 
from  the  press  of  Caxton  in  1485.  East's  impression  is  without 
date,  the  Colophon  running  thus  :  "  Imprinted  at  London,  by 
Thomas  East  dwelling  betweene  Paules  wharfe  and  Baynardes 
Castell,"  and  it  differs,  as  far  as  the  text  is  concerned,  in  no  ma 
terial  respect  from  the  reprint  previously  made  by  William  Cop 
land  from  the  text  of  Caxton  :  some  of  the  woodcuts,  which  are 


€ngU0|)  Cteatare.  39 

placed  at  the  head  of  every  book,  are  also  identical,  and  must  have 
devolved  into  the  hands  of  East ;  but  others  vary  rather  in  design 
than  in  subject.  On  the  title-page  is  a  woodcut  representing  the 
conflict  between  St.  George  and  the  Dragon,  but  here  the  Knight 
of  Cappadocia  is  made  to  pass  for  King  Arthur.  A  reduced 
copy  of  it  is  inserted  on  the  title-page  of  Southey's  edition  of  the 
Mort  Arthur,  4to,  1817. 

A  few  of  the  woodcuts  of  East's  edition  are  considerably  older 
than  the  date  when  he  printed  :  one  of  them  was  used  by  Wynkyn 
de  Worde  in  1520,  before  Christopher  Goodwyn's  poem,  "  The 
Chaunce  of  a  Dolorous  Lover."  The  block  then  came  into  the 
hands  of  W.  Copland,  and,  having  been  used  by  him  in  his  reprint 
of  the  Mort  Arthur,  it  subsequently  was  in  the  possession  of  East, 
who  applied  it  to  the  same  purpose  in  the  volume  before  us  :  it 
precedes  the  15th  book,  "  Of  Syr  Launcelot  du  lake,"  the  chapter 
being  thus  headed:  "  Howe  Sir  Launcelot  came  into  a  Chappelle* 
where  he  founde  dead  in  a  whyte  sherte  a  man  of  religion  of  an 
hundred  wynter  olde."  Thus  Wynkyn  de  Worde's  "  dolorous 
lover "  served  the  turn,  in  the  hands  of  Copland  and  East,  to 
represent  a  dead  man  in  a  white  shirt,  an  hundred  winters  old- 
At  the  time  the  block  was  employed  by  East  it  had  been  consid 
erably  worn  and  battered. 

The  "  Prologus  "  is  inserted  on  the  next  leaf  after  the  title,  and 
it  is  followed  by  "  the  Table  "  of  the  contents  of  each  chapter  of 
the  twenty-one  books  into  which  the  whole  work  is  divided :  it 
fills  eleven  leaves.  These  have  distinct  signatures,  and  the  first 
chapter  of  the  first  book  begins  on  A  j.,  with  a  woodcut  half-length 
of  Arthur  in  armor,  holding  his  sword  and  shield. 

Somewhat  less  than  a  century  after  East's  edition  appeared, 
Martin  Parker,  the  notorious  ballad-poet,  published  an  abridgment 
of  the  Mort  Arthur,  with  the  title  of  "  The  most  admirable  His 
toric  of  that  most  renowned  Christian  Worthy  Arthur,  King  of 
Great  Britaines ; "  (see  "  Parker,  Martin,"  post ;)  and  on  the  fore 
front  of  his  life  of  this  "  Christian  Worthy,"  he  is  represented  as  a 
Turkish  hero,  in  a  woodcut  that  had  been  intended,  and  used 
for  the  Soldan  of  Babylon,  mounted  on  a  plumed  charger.  It  had 
also  been  pressed  into  the  service  of  another  publisher,  and  then 
it  represented  "  the  Scythian  Tamerlane." 


40  SibUograpIjtcal  Account  of 

ARTHUR.  —  The  most  ancient  and  famous  History  of  the 
renowned  Prince  Arthur,  King  of  Britaine,  wherein  is 
declared  his  Life  and  Death  &c.  As  also  all  the  noble 
Acts  &c.  of  his  valiant  Knights  of  the  Round  Table. 
Newly  refined  and  published  for  the  delight  and  profit 
of  the  Reader.  —  London,  Printed  by  William  Stansby 
for  Jacob  Bloome,  1634.  B.  L.  4to.  467  leaves. 

This  is  a  reprint  of  the  Mort  Arthur  with  certain  moderniza 
tions,  or,  as  it  is  worded  in  the  title-page,  "newly-refined."  In  an 
address  to  the  reader,  he  is  informed  that  the  original  history  was 
written  in  French  and  Italian,  and  that  in  the  ninth  year  of  Ed 
ward  IV.  Sir  Thomas  Maleore  [Malory]  translated  it  into  Eng 
lish.  "  In  many  places,"  adds  the  writer,  "  this  volume  is  corrected, 
(not  in  language,  but  in  phrase,)  for  here  and  there  King  Arthur 
or  some  of  his  knights  were  declared  in  their  communication  to 
sweare  prophane,  and  use  superstitious  speeches,  all  (or  the  most 
part)  of  which  is  either  amended  or  quite  left  out  by  the  paines  and 
industry  of  the  compositor  and  corrector  of  the  presse ;  so  that,  as 
it  is  now,  it  may  passe  for  a  famous  piece  of  antiquity,  revived  al 
most  from  the  gulph  of  oblivion,  and  renued  for  the  pleasure  and 
profit  of  present  and  future  times."  To  this  succeed  Caxton's 
"  Prologue  "  and  his  "  Preface,"  and  "  The  contents  of  the  first 
part,"  in  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  chapters.  Facing  the  title- 
page  is  a  coarse  woodcut  of  Arthur  and  his  Knights  at  the  Round 
Table,  the  king  making  his  appearance  out  of  a  large  hole  in  the 
centre  of  it. 

The  second  and  third  parts  have  each  fresh  title-pages,  with  a 
repetition  of  the  woodcut  to  the  first  part.  The  second  part  con 
sists  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  chapters,  and  the  third  part 
of  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  chapters.  A  table  of  contents  is 
prefixed  to  each  division. 


Ass.  —  The  Noblenesse  of  the  Asse.  A  worke  rare, 
learned  and  excellent.  By  A.  B.  —  London,  Printed 
by  Thomas  Creede,  and  are  to  be  sold  by  William  Bar- 


(KngltsI)  £itarature.  41 

ley,  at  his  shop  in  Gratious  streete,  1595.     4to.     B.  L. 
60  leaves. 

A  tract  of  which  only  three  or  four  copies  are  known  to  be  in 
existence.  It  is  from  beginning  to  end  a  prose  burlesque  in  praise 
of  the  Ass,  and  it  displays  a  great  variety  of  learning  and  some 
drollery  :  the  fault  is  that  the  joke  is  a  little  too  long  drawn  out ; 
for  the  writer  seems  to  have  been  oppressed  by  the  abundance 
of  his  materials.  If  it  had  been  of  an  earlier  date,  A.  B.  might 
have  been  taken  for  the  initials  of  Andrew  Borde,  the  humorist 
and  physician  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. ,  who  called  himself  An 
dreas  Perforatus,  lest  (as  he  said)  any  one  else  should  call  him 
Andreas  Assis. 

A  woodcut  of  an  Ass,  with  a  wreath  of  laurel  about  his  neck, 
ornaments  the  title-page,  and  is  repeated  in  the  body  of  the  pam 
phlet  :  it  is  followed  by  an  address  from  "Atabaliba  of  Peru  to  the 
Asse-favouring  Readers,"  the  reason  for  which  is  not  very  obvious, 
seeing  that  the  Incas  knew  nothing  of  any  beasts  of  burden  but 
Lamas,  until  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  who,  riding  upon  horses, 
were  thought  centaurs.  Atabaliba  speaks  in  his  own  person 
throughout,  as  if  he  were  the  author,  and  A.  B.  only  the  trans 
lator. 

The  production  is  divided  into  three  parts,  without  any  ap 
parent  necessity,  unless  to  give  the  reader  an  opportunity  of  paus 
ing.  Several  scraps  of  verse  also  lighten  the  page,  but  it  is  to 
be  observed  that  more  than  one  of  them  is  derived  from  Berni's 
Italian  burlesque  capitolo,  In  lode  del  Asino :  the  subsequent  is 
a  specimen :  — 

"  One  other  gift  this  beast  hath  of  his  owne, 
Wherewith  the  rest  could  not  be  furnished; 

On  man  himselfe  the  same  was  not  bestowne : 
To  wit,  on  him  is  ne're  engendered 

The  hatefull  vermine  that  doth  teare  the  skin, 

And  to  the  body  make  his  passage  in." 

We  have  here  amended  a  misprint  in  the  last  line,  which  runs 
"And  to  the  bode  doth  make  his  passage  in." 

According  to  A.  B.  there  is  nothing  about  an  Ass  that  is  not  su- 
perexcellent  —  even  his  voice  comes  in  for  an  extravagant  amount 


42  Bibliographical  Account  of 

of  praise,  in  the  course  of  which  the  author  makes  use  of  an  adjec 
tive  that  we  have  never  met  .with  elsewhere.  The  employment  by 
Shakspeare  and  others  of  "  modern,"  to  indicate  what  is  common 
or  ordinary,  is  well  known ;  but  A.  B.  gives  us  immodern  in  the 
opposite  sense.  After  noticing  "  the  goodly  sweete  and  continual 
brayings  "  of  Asses,  he  adds,  —  "  Nor  thinke  I  that  any  of  our  im- 
moderne  musitians  can  deny,  but  that  their  song  is  full  of  ex 
ceeding  pleasure  to  be  heard  ;  because  therein  is  to  be  discerned 
both  concord,  discord,  singing  in  the  meane,"  &c.  Certainly,  it 
would  require  a  very  "  immodern,"  or  extraordinary,  musician  in 
deed  to  find  harmony  in  the  braying  of  an  Ass.  The  allusion,  at 
the  close  of  the  whole,  to  the  choice  by  our  Saviour  of  an  ass, 
when  he  entered  Jerusalem  in  triumph,  rather  smacks  of  the  pro 
fane,  and  need  not  be  quoted. 


ASTROPHEL  AND  STELLA.  —  Syr  P.  S.  His  Astrophel 
and  Stella.  Wherein  the  excellence  of  sweete  Poesie  is 
concluded.  To  the  end  of  which  are  added  sundry  other 
rare  Sonnets  of  diuers  Noblemen  and  Gentlemen.  —  At 
London,  Printed  for  Thomas  Newman.  Anno  Domini 
1591.  4to.  44  leaves. 

Newman  published  two  impressions  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney's  "As- 
trophel  and  Stella"  in  the  same  year,  viz.  1591 :  the  above  is  the 
title-page  of  the  first,  and  the  stationer  mentions  in  the  prelimi 
nary  matter  that  the  manuscript  had  come  into  his  hands  "  much 
corrupted  by  ill  writers."  The  fact  is,  that  the  corruptions  are  in 
numerable,  and  on  this  account  Newman  put  forth  his  later  impres 
sion.  Where  he  obtained  the  corrected  copy  is  not  stated,  but  it 
seems  not  unlikely  that  the  family  would  interpose,  to  rescue  the 
memory  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney  from  the  imputation  of  having  pro 
duced  so  much  nonsense  as  the  blunders  of  transcribers  had  occa 
sioned.  Newman,  however,  was  evidently  delighted  in  the  first 
instance  to  procure  the  work  of  so  popular  and  famous  a  poet  for 
his  use,  and  dedicating  it  to  "  Ma.  Frauncis  Flower  Esquire," 
(who  perhaps  had  been  instrumental  in  obtaining  the  MS.  for 


Citcrature.  43 

him,)  he  employed  the  celebrated  Thomas  Nash,  then,  as  usual,  in 
poverty,  to  write  an  introductory  epistle,  and  thus  put  forth  the 
volume.  This  epistle,  caustic  and  critical,  is  found  nowhere  else, 
and  it  will  always  render  this  edition  remarkable.  The  later  copy 
of  the  same  year  does  not  contain  it,  and  why  so  readable  and 
lively  a  production  was  excluded  we  can  only  conjecture  :  perhaps 
the  Countess  of  Pembroke  herself  might  object  to  the  extravagant 
laudation  heaped  upon  her  in  it :  Nash  is  speaking  of  the  Sidneys, 
and  thus  breaks  out :  — 

"  Amongst  the  which,  fayre  sister  of  Phoebus  and  eloquent  secretary  to 
the  Muses,  most  rare  Countess  of  Pembroke,  thou  art  not  to  be  omitted ; 
whome  Artes  doe  adore  as  a  second  Minerva,  and  our  Poets  extoll  as  the 
patronesse  of  their  invention;  for  in  thee  the  Lesbian  Sappho  with  her 
lirick  Harpe  is  disgraced,  and  the  Laurel  Garlande,  which  thy  Brother  so 
bravely  advaunst  on  his  Launce,  is  still  kept  greene  in  the  Temple  of 
Pallas.  Thou  only  sacrificest  thy  soule  to  contemplation;  thou  only 
entertainest  emptie  handed  Homer,  and  keepest  the  springs  of  Castalia 
from  being  dryed  up.  Learning,  wisedom,  beautie,  and  all  other  orna 
ments  of  Nobilitie,  whatsoever,  seek  to  approve  themselves  in  thy  sight, 
and  get  a  further  scale  of  felicity  from  the  smiles  of  thy  favour." 

This  might  be  rather  too  strong  a  dose  of  flattery  even  for  those 
times  of  adulation,  in  spite  of  the  known  and  admitted  claims  of 
u  Sidney's  sister."  Various  attacks  upon  his  contemporaries  were 
also  inserted  by  Nash,  and  the  Epistle  opens  with  some  severe 
ridicule  even  of  his  friend  Robert  Greene,  who  on  his  title-pages 
always  added  to  his  name  the  statement  of  the  two  Universities  at 
•which  he  had  taken  his  degrees.  The  whole  is  headed, 

"  Somewhat  to  reade  for  them  that  list. 

ttTempus  adest  f)lausus  aurea  pompa  venit:  so  endes  the  Sceane  of  Idiots, 
and  enter  Astrophel  in  pompe.  Gentlemen  that  have  scene  a  thousand 
lines  of  folly  drawn  forth  ex  uno  puncto  impudentice,  and  two  famous  Moun 
tains  to  goe  to  the  conception  of  one  Mouse ;  that  have  had  your  eares 
deafned  with  the  eccho  of  Fame's  brazen  towres,  when  only  they  have 
been  toucht  with  a  leaden  pen ;  that  have  seene  Pan  sitting  in  his  bower 
of  delights,  and  a  number  of  Midasses  to  admire  his  miserable  hornepipes, 
let  not  your  surfeted  sight,  new  come  from  such  puppet  play,  think  scorne 
to  turn  aside  into  this  Theater  of  pleasure,"  &c. 

Nash  admits,  however,  that  "  his  witless  youth  may  be  taxt  with 


44  Bibliographical  Account  of 

a  margent  note  of  presumption " ;  and  as  he  was  three  years 
younger  than  Shakspearet  and  therefore  only  twenty-four  when 
he  wrote  the  preceding  epistle,  we  may  perhaps  allow  his  claim  : 
still,  it  is  to  be  recollected  that  four  years  earlier  he  had  furnished 
the  poet  whom  he  here  particularly  assails,  with  an  epistle  intro 
ductory  to  "  Menaphon,"  which  epistle  is  written  in  a  similar 
strain,  and  has  given  rise  to  as  much  literary  speculation  as  some 
works  of  higher  pretensions. 

At  the  close  of  his  Epistle,  Nash  leaves  his  readers  to  "  the  pleas 
ures  of  Paphos "  contained  in  the  body  of  the  work ;  but  those 
pleasures  are  greatly  diminished  by  the  miserable  condition  of  the 
text,  with  the  preparation  and  correction  of  which,  we  may  be 
confident,  Nash  had  nothing  to  do,  having  left  it  entirely  to  New 
man  and  his  printer.  Several  sonnets  by  Sidney  are  omitted,  and 
other  poems,  of  a  lyrical  kind,  are  sadly  mutilated  and  abridged. 
Still,  much  improved  as  was  the  reimpression  of  1591,  and  the 
subsequent  editions  in  folio  of  1593,  1598,  &c.,  there  are  defective 
passages  in  them,  which  even  the  garbled  text  of  Newman's  first 
edition  of  1591  enables  us  to  set  right.  Thus  in  Sonnet  64  we 
read  in  the  authentic  copy,  — 

"  Nor  hope,  nor  with  another  course  to  frame," 

where  "  with  "  ought  to  be  wish,  as  it  stands  in  what  we  may  call 
Nash's  edition.  Again,  in  Sonnet  68,  we  are  always  told  to 
read,  — 

"  Seeking  to  quench  in  me  the  noble  fire, 
Fed  by  thy  worth,  and  blinded  by  thy  sight." 

Here  the  "  noble  fire  "  was  not  "  blinded  "  by  the  sight  of  Stella, 
but  kindled ;  and  it  stands  "  kindled  by  thy  sight "  in  Nash's  edi 
tion.  A  third  and  more  important  instance  occurs  in  Sonnet  91, 
where  the  usual  text  has  been ,  — 

"  Milke  hands,  rose  cheeks,  or  lips  more  sweet,  more  red, 
Or  seeing  gets  blacke,  but  in  blacknesse  bright." 

Here  "  seeing  gets  "  has  been  misprinted  for  seeming  jet,  the  ref 
erence  of  the  poet  being  to  the  brightness  of  polished  jet. 

However,  these  are  rare  instances ;  and  if  Sidney's  poems  had 
come  down  to  us  in  no  better  condition  than  in  Newman's  earliest 


(Engltslj  Citcraturc.  45 

4to  of  1591,  the  loss  would  have  been  lamentable.  We  may 
partly  judge  from  thence  of  the  woful  blunders  transmitted  to  us 
in  many  of  the  productions  of  poets  who  did  not  enjoy,  or  neglected 
to  avail  themselves  of,  the  opportunity  of  correcting  the  press  of 
their  effusions.  Much  was  formerly  left  to  ignorant  and  mechan 
ical  readers  of  proofs,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that 
many  of  the  productions  of  our  best  versifiers  came  surreptitiously 
from  the  press. 

Such  was  the  case,  not  only  with  Sidney's  "  Astrophel  and 
Stella,"  but  with  the  whole  of  what  follows  in  the  impression  to 
which  Nash's  epistle  was  prefixed.  Samuel  Daniel,  who  in  1591 
had  published  nothing  but  a  prose  translation,  had  no  fewer  than 
28  poems  stolen  from  him,  and  printed  without  authority  by  New 
man.  Of  these  he  inserted  23  in  his  "  Delia,"  (twice  printed  in 
1592,)  where  he  complains  of  the  injury  thus  done  to  him:  the 
remaining  five  pieces  by  Daniel  are  only  to  be  found  in  the  volume 
under  consideration.1  Five  other  poems  subscribed  "  Finis.  Con 
tent,"  appear  to  be  in  the  same  predicament,  and  merit  preserva 
tion  in  a  more  accurate  state ;  as  well  as  a  production  subscribed 
E.  O.  (Earl  of  Oxford),  set  to  music  in  Dowland's  "  Second  Booke 
of  Songs  or  Ayres,"  fol.  1600.  The  two  stanzas  which  wind  up 

1  The  reader  may  like  to  see  a  specimen  of  Daniel's  subsequently  ex 
cluded  poems :  one  sonnet  runs  thus :  — 

"  The  slie  Inchanter,  when  to  worke  his  will, 
And  secret  wrong,  on  some  forespoken  wight, 
Frames  waxe  in  forme  to  represent  aright 
The  poore  unwitting  wretch  he  meanes  to  kill ; 
And  prickes  the  image  fram'd  by  magick's  skill, 
Whereby  to  vexe  the  par  tie  day  and  night. 
Like  hath  she  done  whose  shewe  bewitcht  my  sight, 
To  beauties  charmes  her  Lover's  bloud  to  spill ; 
For  first  like  waxe  she  fram'd  me  by  her  eyes, 
Whose  rayes,  sharp  poynted,  set  upon  my  brest, 
Martyrs  my  life,  and  plagues  me  in  this  wise, 
With  lingring  paine  to  perish  in  unrest. 
Naught  could,  save  this,  my  sweetest  faire  suffice 
To  trie  her  arte  on  bun  that  loves  her  best." 

We  are  not  sure  whether  the  sprightly  lines  here  imputed  to  the  Earl  of 
Oxford  have  ever  been  reprinted  in  modern  times,  (we  suspect  that  they 
have  been,)  but  we  add  them  by  way  of  illustration.  This  was  the  Earl 


46  Bibliographical  Account  of 

Nash's  edition  of  "Astrophel  and  Stella,"  "  If  flouds  of  teares," 
&c.,  may  be  by  Nash,  but  they  are  unquestionably  found  in  a  MS. 
in  the  Bodleian  Library,  preserved  at  the  end  of  one  of  Bishop 
Tanner's  curious  volumes.  There  they  would  seem  to  belong  not 
to  Nash,  but  to  Nicholas  Breton. 


AVALE,  LEMEKE.  —  A  Commemoration  or  Dirige  of  Bas- 
tarde  Edmonde  Boner,  alias  Sauage,  vsurped  Bisshoppe 
of  London.  Compiled  by  Lemeke  Auale.  Episcopatum 
eius  accipiet  alter.  Anno  Domini  1569.  Imprinted  by 
P.  O.  B.  L.  8vo.  22  leaves. 

of  Oxford  who  had  put  the  affront  upon  Sir  Philip  Sidney:  he  died  in 
1604.  We  divide  the  lines  exactly  as  they  stand  in  the  original  copy  of 
1591. 

"  Faction  that  ever  dwelles  in  Court  where  wit  excelles 

hath  set  defiance  : 

Fortune  and  Love  have  sworne,  that  they  were  never  borne 
of  one  alliance. 

Cupid,  which  doth  aspire  to  be  God  of  desire, 

sweares  he  gives  lawes ; 
That  where  his  arrowes  hit,  some  joy,  some  sorrow  it, 

Fortune  no  cause. 

Fortune  sweares  weakest  hearts,  (the  bookes  of  Cupids  arts) 

turnd  with  her  wheele, 
Sensles  themselves  shall  prove  :  venter  hath  place  in  love, 

aske  them  that  feele. 

This  discord  is  begot  Atheists  that  honor  not : 

Nature  thought  good 
Fortune  should  ever  dwell  in  Court  where  wits  excell ; 

Love  keepe  the  wood. 

So  to  the  wood  went  I,  with  Love  to  live  and  die, 

Fortune's  forlorne. 
Experience  of  my  youth  made  me  thinke  humble  Truth 

in  desarts  borne. 

My  Sainte  I  keepe  to  mee,  and  Joane  her  selfe  is  shee, 

Joane  faire  and  true  : 
She  doth  onely  move  passions  of  love  with  love. 

Fortune,  adieu !  Finis,  B.  0." 


«  (Hfnjjlislj  Ctteratutx  47 

Bishop  Banner  died  in  the  Marshalsea  prison  on  the  5th  of  Sep 
tember,  1569,  and  this  highly  humorous  and  bitter  attack  upon 
him  was  doubtless  published  just  afterwards.  It  is  possible  that 
the  name  of  the  author,  Lemeke  Avale,  is  only  assumed.  The 
tract  is  principally  in  verse,  and  in  a  biographical  point  of  view 
extremely  curious.  It  was  obviously  written  and  printed  in  haste, 
that  the  temporary  interest  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Bonner 
might  not  subside  before  it  was  ready  for  publication. 

"  The  Preface  "  of  nine  pages  is  chiefly  directed  to  establish  that 
Bonner,  like  Tunstal,  by  his  bastardy  was  disqualified  for  being 
bishop.  The  Dirige  then  begins ;  and  the  rest  of  the  tract,  with 
the  exception  of  about  six  pages  at  the  end,  is  in  verse  of  various 
measures,  with  Latin  lines  and  half  lines  intermixed :  thus  the 
following  is  part  of  an  address  to  Bonner :  — 

"  Custodiens  parvulos  dominus,  the  Lorde  hath  helped  Sion, 
And  taken  awaie  this  mad  dogge,  this  wolfe,  and  this  Lion ; 
Qui  erupit  animam  de  morte,  and  my  hart  from  sorowe, 
Now,  gentle  maister  Boner,  God  give  you  good  morrowe. 
Lorde,  surely  thou  hast  given  them  eternall  rest 
Whom  Boner  in  prison  moste  sore  opprest. 
Placebo.     Bo.  Bo.  Bo.  Bo.  Bo. 

Heu  me  !  beware  of  the  bugge :  out,  quod  Boner,  alas ! 
De  profundis  ckanavi,  how  is  this  matter  come  to  passe  ? 
Lcevavi  oculos  meos  from  a  darke  deepe  place. 
Now,  Lazarus  helpe  Dives  with  one  droppe  of  grace. 
Ne  quando  rapiat  ut  Leo  animam  meam,  druggarde,  druggarde, 
To  defende  this  matter  came  John  Availe,  and  Miles  Huggarde." 

Miles  Huggarde  was  a  celebrated  verse-maker  in  the  reign  of 
Mary,  but  of  John  Availe  we  recollect  no  record  :  he  was  perhaps 
some  relation  to  Lemeke  Avale,  the  supposed  author  of  this  tract. 
The  whole  is  conducted  in  the  form  of  Lessons  and  Responses, 
and  "  the  fifth  Lesson  "  commences  in  what  has  been  called  Skcl- 
tonic  verse :  — 

"  Homo  nalus 
Came  to  heaven  gatus. 
Sir,  you  doe  come  to  latus, 
With  your  shorne  patus.     *  *  * 
Thou  axi  JIKus  populi, 
Go,  go  to  Constantinopoli, 


48  23ibli0grapljical  ;2Uamnt  of 

To  your  maister  the  Turke, 

There  shall  you  lurke, 

Emong  the  heathen  soules. 

Sometime  your  shorne  brethren  of  Poules 

Were  as  blacke  as  Moules 

With  their  cappes  fower  forked, 

Their  shoes  warm  corked  ; 

Nosed  like  redde  grapes, 

Constant  as  she  apes.    *  *  * 

Lo,  lo !  now  is  he  dedde 

That  was  so  well  fedde, 

And  had  a  softe  bedde. 

JEstotefortis  in  bello ; 

Good  Hardyng  and  thy  fellowe, 

If  you  be  Papistes  right 

Come  steale  hym  awaie  by  night, 

And  put  him  in  a  shrine ; 

He  was  the  Popes  devine." 

This  measure  is  continued  for  several  pages.  "  The  Eighth 
Lesson  "  opens  thus :  — 

"My  fleshe  is  consumed;  there  is  but  skinne  and  bone: 
In  sainct  Georges  Churche  yarde  my  grave  and  I  alone. 
My  tongue  that  used  lewde  woordes,  and  lippes  awaie  are  rotten: 
Take  pitie  upon  me  R.  L.,  and  H.  let  me  not  be  forgotten." 

Initials  are  here  and  elsewhere  employed,  when,  perhaps,  the 
writer  could  not  venture  to  insert  names  at  length.  He  is  often 
coarse  and  abusive,  and  not  a  few  of  the  allusions  to  persons  and 
events  are  now  unintelligible.  Among  other  things  it  is  said,  that 
Crowley  the  printer,  afterwards  a  preacher,  delivered  a  sermon 
before  the  door  of  the  Marshalsea  where  Bonner  was  confined,  in 
hopes  of  converting  him :  — 

"  One  morne  betime  I  loked  forth,  as  ofte  as  I  did  before, 
And  did  se  a  pulpit,  in  churches  wise,  made  by  my  prison  dore. 
A  preacher  there  was,  that  Crowly  hight,  whiche  preached  in  that  place, 
A  meane,  if  God  had  loved  me,  to  call  me  then  to  grace. 
Hodie  si  vocem  was  his  theme,  and  harden  not  thyne  harte, 
As  did  the  fathers  the  rebbelles  old,  that  perished  in  desarte." 

In  the  next  year  was  printed  by  John  Day  another  tract  of  the 


£itcratan.  49 

same  kind,  called  "A  Recantation  of  Famous  Pasquin  of  Rome," 
by  R.  W.,  from  which  it  appears  that  John  Hey  wood,  the  poet  and 
dramatic  author,  was  alive  in  1570.  It  seems  certain,  indeed,  that 
he  was  not  dead  even  as  late  as  1576-77,  because  in  a  list  made 
on  29th  of  January  in  that  year,  "  of  all  such  as  are  certified  into 
the  Exchequer  to  be  fugitives  over  the  seas,  contrary  to  the  stat. 
13  Eliz.,"  the  name  of  John  Hey  wood  is  included,  and  he  is  de 
scribed  as  "  of  the  county  of  Kent."  He  was  then  resident  in 
Louvaine,  his  sons,  Ellis  and  Jasper,  being  with  him.  By  mis 
taking  the  authority  of  Anthony  Wood,  (Aihence  Oxonienses,  i. 
394,  edit.  1813,)  it  has  been  supposed  that  Hey  wood  died  in  1565. 
Vide  Biogr.  Dram.  i.  329,  and  Gen.  Biogr.  Diet.  xvii.  445.  Wood 
only  says  that,  after  the  decease  of  Queen  Mary,  Heywood  "  left 
the  nation  for  religion  sake,  and  settled  at  Mechlin  in  Brabant," 
and  that  he  died  there  "about  1565."  The  earliest  notice  we 
have  of  him  is  in  1514,  when  he  probably  was  one  of  the  chil 
dren  of  the  Chapel  Royal,  of  whom  he  afterwards  seems  to  have 
become  master.  (Hist.  ofEngl  Dram.  Poetr.  and  the  Stage,  i.  70.) 
In  the  King's  Household  Books,  later  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII., 
he  is  sometimes  termed  "  Singer,"  and  at  others,  "  Player  on  the 
Virmnals." 


BACON,  FRANCIS.  — The  Translation  of  certaine  Psalmes 
into  English  Verse  :  By  the  Right  Honourable  Francis 
Lo.  Verulam,  Viscount  St.  Alban.  —  London,  Printed 
for  Hanna  Barret  and  Richard  Whitaker  &c.  1625. 
4to.  11  leaves. 

The  dedication  is  "  to  his  very  good  friend  Mr.  George  Her 
bert,"  author  of"  The  Temple,"  printed  in  1633  ;  and  hence  it  ap 
pears  that  these  translations  had  been  "  the  exercise "  of  Lord 
Bacon's  "sickness."  He  also  thanks  Herbert  for  "the  pains  it 
pleased  you  to  take  about  some  of  my  writings,"  referring  to  the 
translation  by  Herbert  of  part  of  the  "Advancement  of  Learning  " 
into  Latin. 

The  Psalms  versified  are  the  1st,  the  12th,  the  90th,  the  104th, 
the  126th,  the  137th,  and  the  149th,  in  various  measures. 

VOL.  i.  4 


50  Bibliographical  Tlaottnt  of 

Among  theMSS.  at  Bridgewater  House  are  several  letters  from 
Lord  Bacon  to  Lord  Ellesmere,  among  them  the  celebrated  epistle 
upon  the  want  of  a  history  of  Great  Britain,  a  work  which  Samuel 
Daniel  afterwards  undertook,  but  did  not  live  to  complete.  (Vide 
DANIEL,  post.}  This  letter  has  been  printed  in  both  editions  of 
the  "  Cabala,"  but  most  imperfectly  in  all  respects,  and  with  the 
total  omission  of  two  very  important  passages.  It  is,  therefore, 
here  subjoined  from  the  original,  which  is  carefully  and  clearly 
penned,  and  is  entirely  in  the  handwriting  of  Lord  Bacon.  It  is 
addressed  "  To  the  R.  Hon.  his  very  good  L.  the  L.  Ellesmere,  L. 
Chancellor  of  England,"  and  it  is  indorsed  by  Lord  Ellesmere  as 
follows :  —  "  Sir  Francis  Bacon  touching  the  story  of  England." 

"  Yt  may  pleas  yor.  good  L. 

Some  late  Act  of  his  M.  referred  to  some  former  speach  which  I  have 
heard  from  ycf.  L.  bredd  in  me  a  great  desire,  and  by  strength  of  desire 
a  bouldnesse  to  make  an  humble  proposition  to  yor  L.  such  as  in  me  can 
be  no  better  than  a  wysh,  but,  if  yor  L.  should  apprehend  it,  may  take 
some  good  and  woorthy  effect.  The  Act  I  speake  of  is  the  order  giuen 
by  his  M.  as  I  vnderstand,  for  the  erection  of  a  tomb  or  monument  for 
or  late  Soueraine  Lady  Q.  Elizabeth ;  whearin  I  may  note  much,  but  this 
at  this  tyme :  That  as  her  M.  did  alwaies  right  to  his  Highness  hopes ;  so 
his  M.  doth  in  all  things  right  to  her  memory — a  very  just  and  princely 
retribution.  But  from  this  occasion,  by  a  very  easy  ascent,  I  passed  fur- 
der;  being  put  in  mynd,  by  this  Representative  of  her  person,  of  the  more 
crue  and  more  firm  Representative  which  is  of  her  life  and  gouvernm*. 
For  as  Statuaes  and  Pictures  are  dumbe  histories,  so  histories  are  speak 
ing  Pictures.  Whearin  if  my  affection  be  not  to  great,  or  my  reading  to 
small,  I  am  of  this  opynion,  that  if  Plutarque  were  aliue  to  write  lyues  by 
Paralleles,  it  would  trouble  him,  for  vertue  and  fortune  both,  to  find  for 
her  a  Parallels  amongst  wemen.  And  though  she  was  of  the  passive  sex, 
yet  her  gouvernmt  was  so  actiue,  as  in  my  simple  opynion  it  made  more 
impression  vpon  the  seuerall  states  of  Europe,  then  it  received  from 
thence.  But  I  confess  vnto  yor  L.  I  could  not  stay  hear;  but  went  a 
littell  furder,  into  the  consideration  of  the  tymes  which  have  passed  since 
K.  Henry  the  8th.,  whearin  I  find  the  strangest  variety  that  in  like  number 
of  Successions,  of  any  hereditary  Monarchy,  hath  euer  been  knowne: 
The  Raign  of  a  child,  the  offer  of  an  vsurpation  (though  it  were  but  as  a 
Diary  Ague)  the  Raign  of  a  Lady  maried  to  a  forein  Prince,  and  the  Raign 
of  a  Lady  solitary  and  vnmaried.  So  that  as  it  cometh  to  pass  in  massive 
bodies,  that  they  have  certen  trepidations  and  wauerings  before  they  fix 
and  settle,  so  it  seameth  that  by  the  -prouidence  of  God,  this  Monarchy, 


Orarlg  <£ngUsfj  Citcratar*.  51 

before  it  was  to  settle  in  his  M.  and  his  generations  (in  wch  i  hope  it  is 
now  established  for  euer)  it  had  these  prelusive  chaunges  in  these  barren 
Princes.  Neyther  could  I  contein  myself  hear  (as  it  is  easier  to  produce 
then  to  stay  a  wysh)  but  calling  to  remembrance  the  vnwoorthiness  of 
the  History  of  England  (in  the  main  continuance  thearof )  and  the  par- 
tiality  and  obliquity  of  that  of  Scotland  in  the  latest  and  largest  Author 
that  I  have  seen,  I  conceived  it  would  be  honor  for  his  M.  and  a  woorke 
very  memorable,  if  this  Hand  of  great  Brittaine,  as  it  is  now  joyned  in 
Monarchy  for  the  ages  to  come,  so  were  joyned  in  History  for  the  tymes 
passed,  and  that  one  just  and  complete  History  were  compiled  of  both 
Nations.  And  if  any  man  thinke  it  may  refresh  the  memory  of  former 
discords,  he  may  satisfie  himself  with  the  verse  OKm  meminisse  juuabit ; 
for  the  case  being  now  altered,  it  is  matter  of  comfort  and  gratulation  to 
remember  former  troubles. 

"  Thus  much,  if  it  may  pleas  yor  Lp,  was  in  the  optatiue  moode     It  is 
trew  that  I  did  looke  a  littell  into  the  potentiall,  whearin  the  hope  wch  Z 
concerned  was  grounded  vpon  three  obseruations:  The  first  of  the  tymes 
which  doe  flourysh  in  learnyng  both  of  art  and  language,  w<*  giueth  hope 
not  onely  that  it  may  be  doon,  but  that  it  may  be  well  doon.     For  when 
good  things  are  vndertaken  in  yll  tymes  it  turneth  but  to  losse;  as  in  this 
very  particular,  we  haue  a  fresh  example  of  Polydore  Virgile,  who  being  de 
signed  to  write  the  English  History  by  K.  Henry  the  8th,  (a  8tran      choise 
3kuze  a  stranger)  and  for  his  better  instruction  hauing  obteyned  into  his 
hands  many  registers  and  memorialls  owt  of  the  Monasteries,  did  indeed 
deface  and  suppresse  better  things  then  those  he  did  collect  and  reduce. 
Secondly,  I  doe  see  that  which  all  the  world  seeth  in  his  M.  both  a  won- 
derfull  judgment  in  learnyng,  and  a  singular  affection  towards  learnyncr 
and  the  workes  of  true  honor,  which  are  of  the  mynd  and  not  of  the  hand" 
For  thear  cannot  be  the  like  honor  sowght  in  the  building  of  galleries,  or 
the  planting  of  elmes  along  high  waies,  and  the  like  manufactures,  things 
rather  of  magnificence  then  of  magnanimity,  as  there  is  in  the  vniting  of 
States,  pacifying  of  controversies,  nourishing  and  augmenting  of  learnyng 
and  arts,  and  the  particular  actions  apperteinyng  vnto  these;  of  which 
kynd  Cicero  judged  trewly  when  he  said  to  Cajsar,  Quantum  operibus  tuis 
detrahet  vetustas,  tantum  addet  laudibus.     And  lastlie  1  called  to  mynd  that 
yor  L.  at  sometymes  hath  been  pleased  to  express  vnto  me  a  great  desire 
that  some  thing  of  this  nature  should  be  perfourmed,  answerably  indeed  to 
yor  other  noble  and  woorthy  courses  and  actions,  whearin  yor  L.  showeth 
yor  self  not  onely  an  excellent  Chauncellor  and  Counsellor,  but  also  an  ex- 
ceeding  fauorer  and  fosterer  of  all  good  learnyng  and  vertue,  both  in  men 
and  matters,  persons  and  actions,  joyning  and  adding  vnto  the  great  ser 
vices  towards  his  M.  w<*  haue  in  small  compass  of  tyme  been  accumulated 
vpon  yor  Lp.  many  other  deseruings  both  of  the  Church  and  Common 
wealth  and  particulars;  so  as  the  opynion  of  so  great  and  wise  a  man  doth 


52  Bibltcgrcrpljtcal  Account  of 

seem  vnto  me  a  good  warrant  both  of  the  possibility  and  woorth  of  this 
matter.  But  all  this  while  I  assure  my  self  I  cannot  be  mistaken  by  yor  L. 
as  if  I  sowght  an  office  or  imployment  for  myself;  for  no  man  knoweth 
better  than  your  L.  that  (yf  there  were  in  me  any  faculty  there  vnto,  as  I 
am  most  vnable)  yet  neither  my  fortune  nor  profession  would  permytt  it. 
But  bycause  thear  be  so  many  good  paynters,  both  for  hand  and  colors,  it 
needeth  but  incouragement  and  instructions  to  giue  life  and  light  vnto  it. 

So  in  all  humbleness  I  conclude  my  presenting  to  yor  good  L.  of  this 
wysh,  wch  if  it  perish,  it  is  but  a  losse  of  that  which  is  not.  And  thus 
crauing  pardon,  that  I  haue  taken  so  much  tyme  from  yor  L.  I  allwaies 
remayn,  Your  Lps  very  humbly  and 

much  bounden 

Graies  Inne  this  2d  of  Aprile  1605."  FR.  BACON. 

It  is  very  possible  that  Daniel  was  encouraged  to  write  his  his 
tory  by  Lord  Ellesmere,  in  consequence  of  the  preceding  letter. 
The  same  task  was  subsequently  assigned  to  Sir  Henry  Wotton, 
and  a  Privy  Seal  is  extant  in  the  Chapter  House,  Westminster, 
raising  his  annuity  from  £200  to  £400  for  the  express  purpose. 
This  fact  is  not  mentioned  by  the  biographers  of  Wotton. 


BACON,  FRIAR.  —  The  famous  Historic  of  Fryer  Bacon. 
Containing  the  wonderfull  things  that  he  did  in  his  Life : 
Also  the  manner  of  his  Death ;  with  the  Liues  and 
Deaths  of  the  two  Conjurors  Bungye  and  Vandermast. 
Very  pleasant  and  delightfull  to  be  read.  Bliidschap 
doet,  het  leuen  yer  Langhen.  Printed  at  London  by  E. 
A.  for  Francis  Grove,  &c.  1629.  B.  L.  4to.  26 
leaves. 

There  is  another  edition  of  this  production  without  a  date,  but 
probably  posterior  to  the  present,  which  itself  can  scarcely  have 
been  the  first,  inasmuch  as  Robert  Greene  made  ample  use  of  the 
story,  in  his  play  of  Friar  Bacon  and  Friar  Bongay,  originally 
printed  in  1594,  and  written  some  years  earlier:  according  to 
Henslowe's  Diary,  it  was  performed  on  the  19th  of  February,  1591. 
The  tract  was  doubtless  popular  before  1590  ;  and  there  is  reason 
for  supposing  it  to  be  of  German  invention.  The  motto  on  the 


lg  (Emjlislj  Citrrature.  53 

title-page  above  inserted  was  omitted  in  the  edition  without  date, 
and  in  subsequent  reprints  ;  but  the  woodcut,  representing  the 
two  Friars,  Miles,  and  the  Brazen  Head,  was  continued,  and  it 
was  transferred  to  the  title-page  of  Greene's  play  when  it  was  re- 
published  in  1630.  Miles,  Friar  Bacon's  man,  is  a  humorous 
personage,  and  in  the  woodcut  he  is  exhibited  playing  on  the  pipe 
and  tabor,  as  Tarleton  and  the  theatrical  Clowns  of  that  day  were 
wont  to  do :  no  doubt,  this  circumstance  was  adopted  from  the 
mode  in  which  Greene's  drama  was  got  up  and  represented. 
Poetry  and  songs  of  a  light  humorous  kind  are  interspersed  with 
the  prose,  and  the  subsequent  is  no  unfavorable  specimen.  It  is 
sung  by  Miles,  "  to  the  tune  of  a  rich  Merchant  man,"  when  the 
Brazen  Head,  which  he  addresses,  pronounces  "  Time  was." 

"  Time  was  when  thou  a  kettle 

Wert  filPd  with  better  matter; 

But  Fryer  Bacon  did  the[e]  spoyle, 

When  he  thy  sides  did  batter. 

"  Time  was  when  conscience  dwelled 

With  men  of  occupation : 
Time  was  when  Lawyers  did  not  thrive 
So  well  by  mens  vexation. 

"  Time  was  when  Kings  and  Beggers 

Of  one  poore  stuffe  had  being. 
Time  was  when  office  kept  no  knaves: 
That  time  were  worth  the  seeing. 

"  Time  was  a  bowle  of  water 

Did  give  the  face  reflection : 
Time  was  when  women  knew  no  paint, 
Which  now  they  call  complexion." 

The  tract  begins  with  the  birth  of  Friar  Bacon,  and  ends  with 
his  burning  his  books  of  magic,  his  turning  hermit,  and  his  death. 
"  Thus,"  says  the  author,  "  was  the  Life  and  Death  of  this  famous 
Fryer,  who  lived  most  part  of  his  life  a  Magician,  and  dyed  a 
true  penitent  Sinner,  and  an  Anchorite."  In  his  Pseudodoxia 
Epidemica,  Sir  Thomas  Brown  contends  that  the  brazen  head  of 
Bacon  was  "  a  mystical  fable  concerning  the  philosopher's  great 
work,"  (p.  461,  edit.  4 to.  1658.) 


54  Bibliographical  Account  of 

BALDWIN,  WILLIAM.  —  Beware  the  Cat.  [Colophon]  Im 
printed  at  London  at  •  the  long  Shop  adioyning  unto 
Saint  Mildreds  Church  in  the  Pultrie  by  Edward  Allde. 
1584.  B.  L.  8vo. 

There  were  three  impressions  of  this  very  singular  tract,  —  one 
in  1561  (Ritson,  B'tbl.  Poet.  p.  118),  another  in  1570,  and  the 
third  in  1584,  which  we  have  employed  ;  but  of  the  two  first  only 
fragments  have  come  down  to  us,  and  of  the  last  the  title-page  is 
deficient :  we  have  therefore  been  obliged  to  derive  our  informa 
tion  respecting  the  printer  and  the  date  from  the  colophon  on  the 
last  page.  Although  the  work  has  'been  noticed  by  Ritson  and 
Herbert,  (Typ.Ant.p.  1238,)  no  mention  is  made  of  it  in  any 
other  bibliographical  work. 

We  are  authorized  in  assigning  it  to  no  less  an  author  than  Wil 
liam  Baldwin,  the  writer  of  "  The  Funerals  of  Edward  VI."  1560, 
and  of  several  other  works,  besides  his  contributions  to  "  The  Mirror 
for  Magistrates,"  in  the  editions  of  1559, 1563,  1574,  &c.  By  whom 
the  impression  of  "Beware  the  Cat"  in  1561  was  printed,  cannot 
be  ascertained,  —  perhaps  by  Baldwin  himself,  who,  after  having 
been  at  Oxford,  became  an  assistant  to  Edward  Whitchurch,  the 
typographer,  and  printed,  with  his  own  name  and  Whitchurch's 
types,  his  translation  of"  The  Balades  of  Solomon,"  in  1549  :  the 
edition  of  "Beware  the  Cat"  in  1584  came,  as  we  see,  from  the 
press  of  Edward  Allde,  and  in  some  preliminary  stanzas  sub 
scribed  T.  K.  we  are  told  that  the  first  edition  had  been  sup 
pressed  :  — 

"  This  little  book,  Beware  the  Cat, 

Moste  pleasantly  compil'd, 
In  time  obscured  was,  and  so 
Since  then  hath  been  exilde: 

"  Exilde  because,  perchaunce,  at  first 

It  shewed  the  toyes  and  drifts 
Of  such  as  then,  by  wiles  and  willes, 
Maintained  Popish  shifts." 

To  nine  other  such  stanzas  succeeds  a  dedication  "  to  the  right 
worshipful  Esquire  John  Yung,"  who  was  "  maker  of  interludes, 
comedies  and  playes  "  to  Henry  VIII. ;  so  that  this  inscription  must 


Qrnglislj  Citerattire.  55 

have  preceded  the  earliest  copy  of  1561.  Here  we  meet  with  the 
first  trace  of  authorship,  for  it  is  signed  G.  B.,  the  initials  of  Guliel- 
mus  Baldwin ;  and  that  he  wrote  the  volume  we  have  the  addi 
tional  and  conclusive  evidence  of  a  very  early  broadside,  (in  the 
library  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,)  but  which  has  no  date  and 
no  printer's  name  :  it  is  not  likely  that  any  typographer  of  that 
day  would  have  made  himself  responsible  for  the  gross  personal 
abuse  there  heaped  upon  William  Baldwin,  as  an  avowed  enemy 
of  Popery.  This  broadside  must  have  made  its  appearance  very 
soon  after  "  Beware  the  Cat"  was  published  in  1561,  and  in  it  we 
read  as  follows  :  — 

"  "Where  as  there  is  a  boke  called  Beware  the  Cat: 
The  veri  truth  is  so,  that  Stremer  made  not  that; 
Nor  no  such  false  fabels  fell  ever  from  his  pen, 
Nor  from  his  hart  or  mouth,  as  knoe  mani  honest  men. 
But  wil  ye  gladli  knoe  who  made  that  boke  in  dede? 
One  Wylliam  Baldewine.    God  graunt  him  wel  to  spede!  "  &c. 

In  reference  to  the  question  of  authorship  it  is  also  to  be  noted 
that  there  exists  in  the  Register  of  the  Stationers'  Company  an 
entry  by  Ireland,  the  publisher,  of  a  "  boke  intituled  *  Beware 
the  Catt,'  "  which  asserts  without  reserve  that  it  was  "  by  Wyllm 
Bawdwin."  The  entry  bears  the  date  of  1568-69,  as  if  it  were 
intended  then  to  reprint  it ;  and  we  know  that  it  was  actually 
republished  by  William  Griffith  in  1570. 

We  may  therefore  conclude  without  hesitation  that  William 
Baldwin  was  the  author  of"  Beware  the  Cat,"  and  not  a  person  of 
the  name  of  Stremer,  or  Streamer,  who  figures  conspicuously  all 
through  it.  The  dedication  to  John  Young,  the  dramatist  and 
actor,  temp.  Henry  VIIL,  signed  G.  B.,  opens  thus :  — 

"  I  have  penned  for  your  maistership's  pleasure  one  of  the  stories  which 
M.  Streamer  tolde  the  last  Christmas,  and  which  you  so  faine  would  have 
had  reported  by  M.  Ferrers  him  selfe ;  and  although  I  be  unable  to  pen  or 
speake  the  same  so  pleasantly  as  he  coulde,  yet  have  I  so  neerly  used  both 
the  order  and  woords  of  him  that  spake  them,  which  is  not  the  least 
vertue  of  a  reporter,  that  I  dout  not  that  he  and  M.  Willot  shall  in  the 
reading  think  they  hear  M.  Streamer  speak,  and  he  him  self,  in  the  like 
action,  shal  dout  whether  he  speaketh  or  readeth." 

Ferrers,  mentioned  above,  it  may  be  remembered,  was  the  other 


56  JJibliograpljical  Account  of 

poet,  besides  Baldwin,  to  whom  Sackville,  afterwards  Earl  of 
Dorset,  intrusted  the  completion-of  his  design  in  "  The  Mirror  for 
Magistrates  "  :  of  Willot  we  "know  nothing,  but  we  are  led  to  be 
lieve  that  Streamer  was  one  of  those  clever  inventive  jesters,  like 
Skelton  or  Scoggin,  whom  Henry  VIII.  kept  about  his  Court.  It 
deserves  remark  also  that  the  whole  scene  of"  Beware  the  Cat" 
is  laid  in  the  office  of  John  Day,  the  printer,  over  Aldersgate. 
Thus  it  curiously  and  interestingly  carries  us  back  to  the  very 
place,  persons,  and  time,  —  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  when  Bald 
win,  Streamer,  Ferrers,  Willot,  Young,  and  others,  met  to  spend 
their  merry  Christmas  at  John  Day's  house  of  business.  Ferrers 
is  expressly  introduced  in  the  book  as  "  the  Lord  of  Misrule," 
an  office  which  we  know,  on  other  evidence,  that  he  had  filled 
under  Edward  VI.  and  his  royal  father.1  The  particular  time 
fixed  for  the  relation  of  Streamer's  story  is  while  Day's  "  Greeke 
Alphabets  were  in  printing."  Day  was  the  great  improver  of 
Greek  types. 

The  whole  piece  from  end  to  end  is  nothing  but  a  pleasant 
absurdity,  the  humor  of  which  depends  much  upon  personal  and 
other  allusions,  which  it  is  not  easy  now  to  explain.  The  attacks 
upon  the  Roman  Catholics  are  frequent  and  fierce  ;  but  the  main 
purpose  of  the  book  is  to  make  out  that  Cats  have  speech  and 
reason,  and  Streamer  tells  the  others  that  he  had  nightly  been 
disturbed  by  "  catterwalling  "  while  sleeping  at  Day's,  the  animals 
being  attracted  to  Aldersgate  by  the  savor  of  the  many  traitors' 
and  malefactors'  heads  exposed  upon  it.  By  the  assistance  of  Al- 
bertus  Magnus,  Streamer  pretends  that  he  compounded  magical 
meat  and  drink,  which  enabled  him  to  understand  the  language 
of  Cats,  but  that  afterwards  he  lost  the  faculty  by  returning  to  his 
old  and  usual  diet.  His  narrative  consists  of  prose  and  verse,  but 
the  verse  is  sometimes  printed  as  prose,  and  in  this  latter  form  we 
find  a  singular  enumeration  of  the  confused  sounds  he  hears  and 
understands,  while  under  the  influence  of  the  broths  and  unguents 
Albertus  had  taught  him  to  employ :  it  begins,  — 
"  Barking  of  dogges, 
Grunting  of  hoggs, 

1  See,  respecting   George   Ferrers  and  his  employments,  Hist.  Engl. 
Dram.  Poetry  and  the  Staye,  Vol.  I.  p.  151,  &c. 


1)  £ttcratur*.  57 

Wauling  of  cats, 
Rumbling  of  rats, 
Gagling  of  geese, 
Humming  of  bees, 
Rousing  of  bucks, 
Gagling  of  ducks, 
Singing  of  swannes, 
Ringing  of  pannes,"  &c.  &c. 

This  is  in  the  second  part  of  the  work,  for  it  is  divided  into 
three  portions :  in  the  first  part  we  meet  with  the  subsequent  re 
markable  passage  respecting  a  belief,  at  that  date,  in  the  existence 
of  werwolves  in  Ireland  :  — 

"  There  is  also  in  Ireland  one  nacion  whereof  some  one  man  and  woman 
are  at  every  seven  yeeres  end  turned  into  Wulves,  and  so  continew  in  the 
woods  the  space  of  seven  yeers ;  and  if  they  happen  to  live  out  the  time, 
they  return  to  their  own  forme  again,  and  other  twain  are  turned  for  the 
like  time  into  the  same  shape;  which  is  penance  (as  they  say)  enjoyned 
that  stock  by  Saint  Patrick  for  some  wickednes  of  their  ancestors :  and 
that  this  is  true  witnessed  a  man  whom  I  left  alive  in  Ireland,  who  had  per 
formed  this  seven  yeeres  penance,  whose  wife  was  slain  while  she  was  a  wulf 
in  her  last  yeer.  This  man  told  to  many  men  whose  cattel  he  had  woor- 
ied,  and  whose  bodyes  he  had  assailed,  while  he  was  a  wulf,  so  plain  and 
evident  tokens,  and  shewed  such  scars  of  wounds  which  other  men  had 
given  him,  both  in  his  mannes  shape  before  he  was  a  wulf,  and  in  his  wulfes 
shape  since,  which  all  appered  upon  his  skin,  that  it  was  evident  to  all 
men ;  yea,  and  to  the  Bishop  too  (upon  whose  grant  it  was  recorded  and 
registred)  that  the  matter  was  undoubtedly  past  peradventure." 

In  fact,  nothing  was  then  too  strange,  in  the  shape  of  wildness 
and  savagery,  to  be  disbelieved  of  Ireland,  and  Streamer's  auditors 
seem  to  have  taken  his  assertions  literally.  The  third  part  con 
sists  mainly  of  narratives  made  by  Cats  to  each  other,  to  which 
Streamer  had  listened;  and  here  we  are  not  unfrequently  re 
minded  of  some  portions  of"  Reynard  the  Fox,"  while  one  of  the 
cats  obtains  the  name  of  Isegrim :  she  seizes  a  man  exactly  in  the 
same  dangerous  manner  in  which  a  cat  in  "  Reynard  "  seizes  a 
priest.  The  incidents  are  not  to  us  very  humorous,  as  they  have 
lost  their  application,  and  a  few  of  the  stories  seem  borrowed  from 
the  Italian  and  French ;  otherwise  we  do  not  understan  dhow  an 
English  cat  could  obtain  the  appellation  of  poylnoir,  or  black-skin. 


58  Bibliographical  Account  of 

One  Italian  tale  relates  to  a  religious  old  bawd,  who  employed 
herself  in  the  seduction  of  the  beautiful  and  virtuous  wife  of  a 
citizen,  which  is  accomplished,  in  part,  by  persuading  the  lady 
that  the  daughter  of  the  old  woman  had  by  witchcraft  been  con 
verted  into  a  cat.  The  work  is  ended  by  sixteen  stanzas,  in  ten- 
syllable  couplets,  of  little  merit  or  interest  in  our  present  state  of 
information  regarding  the  persons  and  events  of  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.  :  in  one  of  these  Streamer  himself  is  punningly,  but 
not  very  intelligibly,  mentioned  :  the  writer  is  addressing  the 
Creator,  — 

"  Which  hast  given  grace  to  Gregory,  no  Pope, 
No  King,  no  Lord,  whose  treasures  are  their  hope ; 
But  sily  preest,  which  like  a  Streamer  waves, 
In  ghostely  good,  despisde  of  fools  and  knaves." 

Besides  the  preceding  important  addition  to  William  Baldwin's 
claims  to  authorship,  there  is  a  smaller  one,  in  the  shape  of  a 
ballad,  (reprinted  by  the  Percy  Society  in  1840,)  which  is  sub 
scribed  G.  B.,  and  which  bears  the  following  title  :  — 

"  A  free  Admonition,  without  any  fees, 
To  warne  the  Papistes  to  beware  of  three  Trees;" 

meaning  the  gallows,  or  "  three-legged  mare,"  as  it  was  then  fa 
miliarly  called.  This  was  printed  by  John  Awdely,  with  the 
statement  of  the  very  day  on  which  it  was  published,  "  the  xij  of 
December,  15  71, "about  five  months  after  the  execution  of  Felton, 
who  is  expressly  brought  forward  as  a  recent  example  of  the  crimes 
and  punishments  of  Roman  Catholic  traitors. 


BARNFIELD,  RICHARD.  —  Lady  Pecunia,  or  The  praise  of 
Money.  Also  a  combat  betwixt  Conscience  and  Covet- 
ousnesse.  Togither  with  The  complaint  of  Poetry  for 
the  death  of  Liberality.  Newly  corrected  and  inlarged 
by  Richard  Barnfield,  Graduate  in  Oxford.  —  Printed 
by  W.  I.  and  are  to  be  sold  by  Ihon  Hodgets,  dwelling 


(Engttslj  Cttcrature.  59 

in  Paules  Church-yard,  a  little  beneath  Paules  Schoole, 
1605.     4to.     26  leaves. 

It  is  no  small  tribute  to  Barnfield  that  two  poems  printed  by 
him,  or  for  him,  in  1598,  having  in  the  next  year  been  inserted  in 
Shakspeare's  "  Passionate  Pilgrim,"  were  long  thought  by  many 
to  be  the  property  of  Barnfield,  on  account  of  his  priority  of  claim. 
In  1598  the  fine  sonnet  in  praise  of  Dowland  and  Spenser,  "  If 
music  and  sweet  poetry  agree,"  and  the  beautiful  lyric,  "  As  it  fell 
upon  a  day,"  were  first  published  as  Barnfield's,  in  a  work  which 
then  bore  the  following  title  :  — 

"  The  Encomion  of  Lady  Pecunia,  or  The  praise  of  Money.  —  qucerenda 
pecunia  primum  est,  Virtus  post  nummos.  —  London,  Printed  by  G.  S.  for 
lohn  laggard,  and  are  to  be  solde  at  his  shoppe  neere  Temple-barre,  at  the 
Signe  of  the  Hand  and  starre.  1598."  4to.i 

John  Jaggard,  who  published  the  above,  was  brother  to  William 
Jaggard,  who  published  Shakspeare's  "  Passionate  Pilgrim,"  and 
in  some  unexplained  manner  the  two  poems  we  have  designated, 
"  If  music  and  sweet  poetry  agree,"  and  "  As  it  fell  upon  a  day," 
the  authorship  of  our  great  dramatist,  found  their  way  out  of  the 
hands  of  W.  Jaggard  into  those  of  John  Jaggard  ;  who,  we  may 
suppose,  was,  in  1598,  on  the  point  of  publishing  Barnfield's  "En 
comion  of  Lady  Pecunia  "  :  there  he  inserted  them ;  but  they, 
nevertheless,  made  their  appearance  in  1599  in  "  The  Passionate 
Pilgrim,"  by  which  it  was  made  to  seem  as  if  W.  Jaggard  had 
stolen  the  poems  from  J.  Jaggard,  because  the  latter  had  printed 
them  as  Barnfield's  in  the  year  preceding.  The  reverse  was,  how 
ever,  the  fact ;  and  the  matter  stood  thus  doubtfully  until  the  year 
1605,  when  Barnfield,  (perhaps  partly  on  this  account,)  putting 
forth  a  new  impression  of  his  "  Encomion  "  under  a  different  title, 
and  with  many  important  changes,  expressly  excluded  from  that 
reimpression  the  two  poems,  which  he  knew  did  not  belong  to  him, 
and  which  he  presumed  were  the  property  of  Shakspeare. 

1  In  giving  the  title  of  Barnfield's  "  Encomion  of  Lady  Pecunia,"  the 
words  "  Horace.  By  Richard  Barnfield,  Graduate  in  Oxford,"  have  by  a 
strange  accident  been  omitted.  It  may  be  questioned  whether  John  Jag 
gard  were  brother  or  son  to  William  Jaggard:  there  was  an  Isaac  Jaggard, 
who  followed  the  business  of  a  stationer  about  the  same  date. 


60  Bibliogmpljtcal  Account  of 

Hence  the  especial  value  of  the  second  edition  of  the  "  Enco- 
mion,"  since  it  maybe  said  to  ascertain  that  John  Jaggard,  wishing 
to  swell  Barnfield's  small  volume  in  1598,  did  so  by  inserting  in  it 
two  pieces  that  did  not  belong  to  the  author  of  the  rest.  The  sec 
ond  edition  of  Barnfield's  "  Encomion,"  under  the  title  of  "  Lady 
Pecunia,  or  the  praise  of  Money,"  was  not  known  at  all  until  a 
comparatively  recent  date ;  and  still  more  recently  it  was  dis 
covered  that  it  did  not  contain  the  poems  to  which  Barnfield 
seemed  to  have  the  earliest  title.  In  1605  Barnfield  was  too 
honest  to  retain  what  had  been  improperly  attributed  to  him  in 
1598.  The  Sonnet  and  the  Poem  are  therefore  not  to  be  traced 
in  the  volume  in  our  hands,  which  forms  part  of  the  Library  at 
Bridgewater  House. 

As  the  earliest  impression  was  accurately  reprinted  for  the  Rox- 
burghe  Club  in  1816,  it  is  hardly  necessary  here  to  say  more  about 
it,  than  that  in  1598  it  was  made  especially  applicable  to  Eliza 
beth  and  her  reign.  In  1605  all  the  lines  mentioning  or  alluding 
to  her  were  omitted  or  altered  to  suit  the  altered  circumstances  of 
the  time  :  thus,  for  a  passage,  heaping  well- worded  adulation  upon 
the  queen,  we  meet  with  the  following,  which  extravagantly  ap 
plauds  her  successor,  and  forms  the  37th  and  38th  stanzas  of  the 
main  poem,  which  is  headed  "  Lady  Pecunia  " :  — 

"  But  now  more  Angels  than  on  Earth  yet  weare 
Her  golden  impresse,  haue  to  Heaven  attended 
Her  Virgin-soule:  now,  now,  she  sojornes  there, 
Tasting  more  joyes  then  may  be  comprehended. 

Life  she  hath  changde  for  life,  (oh,  countlesse  gaine!) 

An  earthlie  rule  for  an  eternall  Raigne. 

"  Such  a  Successor  leaving  in  her  stead, 
So  peerelesse  worthie,  and  so  Royall  wise, 
In  him  her  vertues  live,  though  she  be  dead: 
Bounty  and  Zeale  in  him  both  soveranize. 

To  him  alone  Pecunia  doth  obay; 

He  ruling  her  that  doth  all  others  sway." 

Barnfield  proceeds  in  the  same  strain  for  three  other  stanzas. 
It  is  a  very  clever  poem,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  was  popu 
lar,  although  no  other  copy  of  this  edition  is  known,  and  those  of 
1598  are  of  the  utmost  rarity.  The  subsequent  are  four  stanzas 


t)  (fnglislj  fiifrrature.  61 

from  an  earlier  part  of"  Lady  Pecunia;"  numbered  severally  16, 
17,  18,  and  19  :  — 

"  But  now  unto  her  praise  I  will  proceed, 
Which  is  as  ample  as  the  world  is  wide. 
What  great  Contentment  doth  her  presence  breed 
In  him  that  can  his  wealth  with  Wisdome  guide ! 
She  is  the  Soveraine  Queene  of  all  Delights : 
For  her  the  Lawyer  pleads,  the  Souldier  fights. 

"  For  her  the  Merchant  ventures  on  the  seas ; 
For  her  the  Scholler  studies  at  his  booke ; 
For  her  the  Usurer  (with  greater  ease) 
For  silly  fishes  lays  a  silver  hooke ; 

For  her  the  Townsman  leaves  the  country  village; 

For  her  the  Plowman  gives  himselfe  to  tillage. 

"  For  her  the  Gentleman  doth  raise  his  rentes ; 
For  her  the  Servingman  attends  his  mayster; 
For  her  the  curious  head  new  toyes  invents; 
For  her  to  sores  the  Surgeon  lays  his  playster: 

In  fine,  for  her  each  man  in  his  Vocation 

Applies  himselfe  in  every  sev'rall  Nation. 

"  What  can  thy  hart  desire,  but  thou  mayst  have  it, 

If  thou  have  ready  money  to  disburse  ? 

Then,  thanke  thy  Fortune  that  so  freely  gave  it, 

For  of  all  friends  the  surest  is  thy  Pursse. 
Friends  may  prove  fals,  and  leave  the  in  thy  need, 
But  still  thy  purse  will  be  thy  friend  indeed." 

"  Lady  Pecunia"  consists  of  56  such  stanzas,  followed  by  "  the 
Author's  Prayer  to  Pecunia,"  and  by  "  The  Combat  betwixt 
Conscience  and  Covetousness  in  the  minde  of  Man,"  a  sort  of  Dia 
logue,  in  couplets,  occupying  four  leaves.  "  The  Complaint  of 
Poetry,"  &c.  (which  in  the  copy  of  1598  precedes  "  The  Combat," 
&c.)  is  in  45  stanzas,  concluding  with  "  A  comparison  of  the  Life 
of  Man,"  in  seven  lines.  On  the  last  page,  in  1605,  is  the  follow 
ing  remarkable  "Remembrance  of  some  English  Poets,"  viz., 
Spenser,  Daniel,  Drayton,  and  Shakspeare. 

"  Live  Spenser  ever,  in  thy  Fairy  Queene, 
Whose  like  (for  deepe  Conceit)  was  never  scene: 


62  Sibliograpijkal  Account  of 

Crownd  mayst  thou  be,  unto  thy  more  renowne, 
(As  King  of  Poets)  with  a  Lawrell  Crowne. 

"  And  Daniell,  praised  for  thy  sweet-chast  verse: 
Whose  Fame  is  grav'd  on  Rosamond's  blacke  Herse: 
Still  mayst  thou  live,  and  still  be  honoin*ed, 
For  that  rare  worke,  the  White  Rose  and  the  Red. 

"  And  Drayton,  whose  well- written  Tragedies, 
And  sweet  Epistles,  soare  thy  fame  to  skies, 
Thy  learned  Name  is  equall  with  the  rest, 
Whose  stately  Numbers  are  so  well  addrest. 

"  And  Shakespeare,  thou,  whose  hony  flowing  vaine, 
(Pleasing  the  World)  thy  Praises  doth  containe; 
Whose  Venus,  and  whose  Lucrece  (sweet,  and  chast) 
Thy  name  in  Fame's  immortall  Booke  have  plac't, 
Live  ever  you,  at  least  in  Fame  live  ever: 
Well  may  the  Body  die,  but  Fame  die  never." 

These  verses  vary  only  literally  in  the  two  editions  of  1598  and 
1605.  The  whole  work  is  introduced  by  eight  dedicatory  lines,  not 
addressed  to  any  particular  person,  and  by  two  pages  of  prose  "to 
the  gentlemen  Readers,"  in  which  Barnfield  mentions  his  "  Cyn 
thia."  In  the  Epistle  before  that  poem,  printed  in  1595,  he  speaks 
of  his  "  Affectionate  Shepherd  "  as  his  "  first-fruit."  "  Cynthia  " 
was  his  second  production ;  and  the  tract  under  review  his  third. 
It  is  now  ascertained  that  Barnfield  was  not  the  author  of 
"  Greene's  Funerals,"  1594,  attributed  to  him  by  Ritson  and 
others.  In  the  introductory  matter  to  his  "  Cynthia,"  he  mentions 
that  a  second  book  had  been  falsely  assigned  to  him,  probably 
referring  to  "  Orpheus  his  Journey  to  Hell,"  1595,  to  which  his 
initials  R.  B.  seem  to  have  been  fraudulently  affixed.1 

Barnfield's  "Praise  of  Money,"  in  1598,  was,  no  doubt,  the 
occasion  of  a  poem  called  "  The  Massacre  of  Money,"  by  Thomas 
Achelley,  in  1602,  for  an  account  of  which  see  p.  9. 

i  The  full  title  of  "  Orpheus  his  Journey  to  Hell "  is  this,—  "  Orpheus, 
his  Journey  to  Hell,  and  his  Musicke  to  the  Ghosts  for  the  regaining  of 
faire  Eurydice,  his  Love  and  new  spoused  Wife.  By  R.  B."  4to.  1595. 
We  cannot  say  that  the  "music  to  the  ghosts  "  is  very  seductive,  and  his 


<£ngli0lj  Ctfcratare.  63 

BARTHOLOMEW  FAIR.  —  Bartholomew  Faire,  or 
Variety  of  fancies,  where  you  may  find 
a  faire  of  wares,  and  all  to  please  your  mind. 
With  the  severall  Enormityes  and  misdemeanours,  which 
are  there  scene  and  acted.  —  London,  Printed  for  Rich 
ard  Harper  at  the  Bible  and  Harpe  in  Smithfield.    1641. 
4to.     4  leaves. 

Although  very  few  of  them  have  come  down  to  us,  the  Registers 
of  the  Stationers'  Company  bear  witness  that,  almost  annually,  some 
new  publication  was  issued  to  attract  buyers  who  frequented  Bar 
tholomew  Fair :  the  title  of  one  of  these  we  have  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  present  article ;  but  we  will  first  advert  to  another  pro 
duction  of  the  same  class,  which  was  entered  at  Stationers'  Hall 
as  early  as  July  16th,  1607,  in  anticipation  of  the  fair,  which  at 
that  period  commenced  on  the  24th  August.  Only  a  fragment  of 
it  has  been  preserved,  which  has  no  title-page  (it  is  possible  that 
it  never  had  one)  and  no  conclusion,  but  which  is  headed  "  Newes 
from  Bartholomew  Fayre,"  and  is  wholly  in  verse.  Its  existence 
has  only  recently  been  pointed  out,  and  it  has  never  been  exam 
ined.  In  the  entry  at  Stationers'  Hall  it  is  attributed  to  Richard 
West,  who  was  also  author  of  "  The  Court  of  Conscience,  or  Dick 
Whippers  Sessions,"  4to,  1607,  —  a  piece  in  pari  materia,  though 
not  especially  addressed  to  the  visitors  of  Bartholomew  Fair.  It 
is  fortunate  that  this  imperfect  specimen  has  been  saved  from 
destruction,  but  it  is  a  large  fragment,  consisting  of  12  4to  pages, 
and  thus  opens :  — 

"  Those  that  will  heare  any  London  newes, 
Where  some  be  merrie,  and  some  do  muse, 


song  before  Pluto  and  Proserpine  is  not  much  better,  each  stanza  ending 
with  Quod  Amor  vincil  omnia.  We  quote  a  stanza,  specially  addressed  to 
Pluto:  — 

"  Thou  great  Commaunder  of  this  Court, 

Triumphant  victor  over  Death, 
To  whom  so  manic  soules  resort, 

When  pale-fac'd  death  gins  stop  their  breath, 
Witnesse  the  trueth  of  this  I  say, 
Quod  Amor  vincit  omnia," 


64  Bibliograpljkal  2Urotmt  of 

And  who  hath  beene  at  Bartholomew  Faire, 
And  what  good  stirring  hath  beene  there, 
Come  but  to  mee,  and  you  shall  heare, 
For  among  the  thickest  I  have  beene  there." 

And  so  West  proceeds,  in  a  different  measure,  to  enumerate 
many  of  the  commodities,  sold  in  the  fair  more  than  250  years 

ago,  viz. :  — 

"  There  double  beere  and  bottle-ale 
In  everie  corner  hath  good  sale : 
Many  a  pig,  and  many  a  sow, 
Many  a  jade,  and  many  a  cow: 
Candle  rushes,  cloth,  and  leather, 
And  many  things  came  in  together: 
Many  a  pound  and  penny  told, 
Many  a  bargain  bought  and  sold, 
And  tavernes  full  in  every  place." 

Taverns  lead  West  to  dissert  upon  noses,  especially  red  ones, 
acquired  in  taverns ;  and  he  laments  especially  the  loss  by  death 
of  Nos  maximus  omnium  in  a  merry  jumble  of  nonsense,  which 
however  contains  various  popular  and  personal  allusions :  — 

"  The  Can  maker  cried,  as  if  he  had  bin  mad: 
0  sticks  and  stones,  brickbats  and  bones ! 

Briers  and  brambles, 

Cookes  shops  and  shambles ! 

0  fishers  of  Kent, 

Heycocks  and  bent ! 
0  cockatrices  and  hernshawes  that  in  woods  do  dwell ! 

0  Colliers  of  Croydon, 

0  rusticks  of  Koydon ! 

0  Devills  of  hell ! 

0  pewterers  and  tinkers, 

0  swearers  and  s winkers, 

0  good  ale  drinkers !  "  &c. 

He  assigns  different  places,  at  the  funeral  of  Nos  maximus  om 
nium,  to  noses  of  all  descriptions,  who,  in  spite  of  the  sad  cere 
mony,  are  to  meet  and  be  merry,  exclaiming,  — 

"  Hang  him  at  Wapping 
That  will  not  tipple  and  be  merry, 
With  a  nose  as  red  as  a  cherry. 
Hey !  over  the  ferry 


Citcrature,  65 

Into  Bucklers  berry, 
Where  good  men  be  dwelling, 
That  have  sugar  selling 
To  make  claret  wine 
In  the  goblet  to  shine; 
And  make  noses  fine, 
Like  thy  nose  and  mine." 

The  whole  is  a  mere  piece  of  Skeltonical  drollery,  calculated  to 
please  the  frequenters  of  the  fair ;  and  it  goes  through  the  process 
of  the  mock  funeral  with  spirit  and  vivacity,  but  with  no  great 
coherency  or  distinctness  of  purpose.  We  have  stated  that  the 
fragment  is  unfinished,  for  although  the  word  Finis  is  appended 
at  the  bottom  of  p.  12,  it  is  very  evident  that  it  was  not  printed 
from  types  of  the  time,  but  is  a  comparatively  modern  insertion, 
to  make  some  incautious  buyer  believe  that  the  piece  was  perfect. 
The  last  line  — 

"  With  bromestalkes  and  bay  berries,  the  Divell  and  all," 
has  in  fact  nothing  to  rhyme  with  it,  and  the  sense  is  left  in 
complete. 

We  believe  the  above  to  be  unique ;  *  but  such  is  not  the  case 

1  Playford's  "Pleasant  Musical  Companion,"  1701,  supplies  us  with 
two  Bartholomew-Fair  songs,  showing  the  nature  of  some  of  the  sights 
and  entertainments  there  nearly  two  centuries  ago.  The  earliest  of  these  is 
called  "  The  Second  Part  of  Bartholomew  Fair,"  and  the  music  to  it  was 
by  the  famous  Dr.  John  Blow.  It  runs  as  follows :  — 

' '  Here  are  the  rarities  of  the  whole  fair ! 
Pimperle-Pimp,  and  the  wise  Dancing  Mare. 
Heres  valiant  St.  George  and  the  Dragon,  a  farce, 

A  girl  of  fifteen  with  strange  moles  on  her 

Here  is  Vienna  bcsieg'd,  a  rare  thing, 

And  here  is  Punchinello,  shown  thrice  to  the  King. 

Ladies  mask'd  to  the  Cloysters  repair, 

But  there  will  be  no  raffling  —  a  pox  take  the  Mayor  !  " 

This  proves  that  at  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century 
masked  Ladies  used  to  frequent  the  cloisters  of  Christ  Church,  and  that 
the  Lord  Mayor  had  interposed  to  put  an  end  to  gambling  there.  The 
siege  of  Vienna,  in  a  show,  affords  a  curious  note  of  time.  The  next 
piece  is  called  merely  "  A  Catch,"  and  no  author  of  the  music  is  men 
tioned:  its  contents  are  still  more  singular  and  amusing:  it  carries  us 
back  to  the  date  of  Charles  II.,  as  is  proved  by  the  mention  of  Jacob 

YOL.  I.  5 


66  Bibltcgrctpljkal  -JUrotmt  of 

•with  the  quarto  sheet,  the  title  of  which  we  have  placed  at  the 
head  of  this  article,  but  which  title  Lowndes,  and  his  successor, 
(edit.  1834,  p.  120,  edit.  1857,  p.  124,)  have  divided  into  two,  as  if 
the  first  portion  belonged  to  one  tract,  and  the  last  to  another. 
They  are  in  fact  one  and  the  same,  as  we  have  given  them,  with 
a  woodcut  in  the  centre  of  a  conjuror  about  to  swallow  a  serpent. 
It  goes  into  a  general  description  of  the  fair  and  of  all  that  belonged 
to  it  in  1641,  observing,  "  Bartholomew  Fair  begins  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  August,  and  is  then  of  so  vast  an  extent,  that  it  is 
contained  in  no  lesse  then  foure  severall  parishes,  namely,  Christ 
Church,  Great  and  Little  Saint  Bartholomewes,  and  Saint  Sepul 
chres."  Stow  tells  us  that  it  was  originally  confined  to  the  church 
yard  of  St.  Bartholomew,  "  closed  in  with  walls,  and  gates 
locked  every  night,  and  watched  for  safety  of  men's  goods  and 
wares."  ("  Survey,"  1599,  p.  309.)  We  will  only  quote  from 
the  pamphlet  before  us  what  the  anonymous  writer  says  regarding 
the  portion  of  the  fair  held  in  Sinithfield :  it  is  not  deficient  in 
humor :  — 

Hall,  the  famous  rope-dancer,  who  was  so  great  a  favorite  with  the  Duch 
ess  of  Cleveland. 

"  Here's  that  will  challenge  all  the  Fair  ! 
Come  buy  my  nuts  and  damsons,  my  burgamy  pear ! 
Here's  the  Whore  of  Babylon,  the  Devil  and  the  Pope  ! 
The  Girl  is  just  a  going  on  the  rope ! 
Here's  Dives  and  Lazarus  and  the  World's  Creation  ! 
Here's  the  Dutch  woman  ;  the  like's  not  in  the  nation. 
Here  is  the  booth  where  the  tall  Dutch  Maid  is  ! 
Here  are  bears  that  dance  like  any  ladies  ! 
To-ta,  to-ta-tot  goes  the  little  penny  trumpet ! 
Here's  Jacob  Hall  that  can  jump  it,  jump  it. 
Sound,  Trumpet,  sound !  A  silver  spoon  and  fork : 
Come,  here's  your  dainty  Pig  and  Pork  !  " 

Although  it  has  no  relation  to  Bartholomew  Fair,  we  cannot  refuse  a 
place  to  the  following  bacchanalian  Catch,  "  words  by  Mr.  Otway," 
which  may,  however,  have  been  elsewhere  printed :  — 

"  Would  you  know  how  we  meet  o'er  our  jolly  full  bowls, 
As  we  mingle  our  liquors  we  mingle  our  souls, 
The  sweet  melts  the  sharp,  and  the  kind  sooths  the  strong, 
And  nothing  but  friendship  grows  all  the  night  long. 
We  drink,  laugh,  and  gratify  every  desire : 
Love  only  remains,  our  unquenchable  fire." 


<£tujU0lj  Citeratur*.  67 

"  Let  us  now  make  a  progresse  into  Smithfield,  which  is  the  heart  of 
the  Faire,  where,  in  my  heart  I  thinke,  there  are  more  motions  in  a  day 
to  be  scene,  then  are  in  a  terme  in  Westminster  Hall  to  be  heard.  But 
whilst  you  take  notice  of  the  severall  motions  there,  take  this  caution 
along  with  you :  let  one  eye  watch  narrowly  that  no  one's  hand  make  a 
motion  into  your  pocket,  which  is  the  next  way  to  move  you  to  impa 
tience.  The  Faire  is  full  of  gold  and  silver  drawers.  Just  as  Lent  is  to 
the  Fishmonger,  so  is  Bartholomew  Faire  to  the  Pick-pocket.  It  is  his 
high  harvest,  which  is  never  bad,  but  when  his  cart  goes  up  Holborne." 

i.  e.,  on  its  way  from  Newgate  to  Tyburn. 

About  this  date,  we  may  observe,  that  the  word  "  pick-pocket " 
was  superseding  its  equivalent  cut-purse;  for  people  began  to 
carry  their  money  in  their  pockets,  instead  of  wearing  their  purses 
at  their  girdles.  Both  these  tracts  contain  much  that  illustrates 
Ben  Jonson's  "  Bartholomew  Fair,"  which  was  acted  in  the  inter 
val  between  the  publication  of  the  one  in  1607,  and  of  the  other 
in  1641. 


BASKERVILLE  AND  SAVILE. — A  Libell  of  Spanish  Lies  : 
Found  at  the  Sacke  of  Cales ;  discoursing  the  fight  in 
the  West  Indies,  twixt  the  English  Navie,  being  four- 
teene  Ships  and  Pinasses,  and  a  fleete  of  twentie  saile 
of  the  king  of  Spaines ;  and  of  the  death  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake.  With  an  answere  briefely  confuting  the  Span 
ish  lies,  and  a  shorte  Relation  of  the  fight  according  to 
truth,  written  by  Henrie  Savile  Esquire,  employed  Cap- 
taine  in  one  of  her  Majesties  Shippes  in  the  same  ser 
vice  against  the  Spaniard.  And  also  an  Approbation  of 
this  discourse  by  Sir  Thomas  Baskervile,  then  Generall 
of  the  English  fleete  in  that  service :  Avowing  the  main 
tenance  thereof,  personally  in  Amies,  against  Don  Ber- 
naldino,  if  hee  shall  take  exceptions  to  that  which  is 
heere  set  downe,  touching  the  fight  twixt  both  Navies, 
or  justifie  that  which  he  hath  most  falsely  reported  in 
his  vaine  Printed  letter.  Proverb  19,  ver.  9,  &c. — 
London  Printed  by  John  Windet,  dwelling  by  Pauls 


68  BtbltograpIjUal  SUrotmt  of 

Wharfe  at  the  signe  of  the  Crosse  Keyes,  and  are  there 
to  be  solde.     1596.     4to.     27  leaves. 

This  is  a  very  long  title  to  a  short  widely  printed  pamphlet,  of 
great  rarity  and  of  much  historical  importance.  It  relates  to  the 
voyage  of  Drake  and  Hawkins  to  the  West  Indies  in  1595,  during 
which  they  both  died.  Afterwards  the  command  seems  to  have 
devolved  upon  Sir  Thomas  Baskerville,  who  had  been  appointed 
only  "  General  at  land."  During  the  attack  upon  Cadiz,  under 
the  Earl  of  Essex  and  others,  a  printed  letter  from  Don  Bernal- 
dino  Dalgadillo  de  Avellaneda  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British 
forces  :  Don  Bernaldino  had  commanded  a  Spanish  fleet  in  the 
West  Indies,  while  the  English  ships  were  there  ;  and  claiming  a 
victory,  or  at  least  the  merit  of  putting  the  fleet,  then  under  Bas 
kerville,  to  flight,  he  wrote  to  that  effect  to  a  friend  in  Spain, 
Don  Pedro  Flqrez,  commencing  with  a  statement  which  he  had  ob- 
<tained,  as  he  said,  from  an  Indian,  of  the  death  of  Drake  of  grief 
and  disappointment  at  Nombre  de  Dios.  Now,  it  happened  that 
Drake  died  off  Portobello,  of  a  flux  (or  flize,  as  Savile  spells  it) 
which  "had  growne  uppon  him  eight  days  before";  it  proved 
mortal.1 

1  Several  pieces  were  published  on  the  death  of  Sir  Francis  Drake;  but 
the  most  popular,  as  well  as  the  best,  was  by  Charles  Fitzgeffrey,  under 
the  title  "  Sir  Francis  Drake,  his  honorable  Life's  Commendation,  and  his 
tragicall  Death's  Lamentation,"  of  which  two  editions  appeared  in  1596: 
in  the  second  edition  it  is  stated  that  it  had  been  "  newly  printed  with 
additions,"  the  additions  being  to  the  commendatory  poems.  The  work 
has  been  reprinted  in  modern  limes,  but  very  unsatisfactorily,  because 
not  only  is  the  spelling  of  nearly  every  word  altered,  but  some  are  totally 
misrepresented;  as,  for  instance,  "  all"  is  changed  to  that, lk  lightend  "  to 
lighted,  when  the  poet's  meaning  is  enlightened;  and  even  the  rhyme  is 
sometimes  deserted :  when  Fitzgeffrey  wrote  and  printed, 
"  For  he  that  sings  of  matchlesse  Drake  hath  neede 
To  have  all  Helicon  within  his  braine," 

the  printer  altered  "neede"  to  new,  making  nonsense  of  the  passage,  and 
leaving  the  word  "  reede,"  at  the  close  of  the  preceding  line,  without 
any  rhyme.  These  errors  are  near  the  commencement,  but  we  have  not 
had  patience  to  go  through  the  whole  of  the  101  pages,  of  which  the  re 
print  consists.  As  Fitzgeffrey  was  a  very  ambitious,  vigorous,  and  often 
striking  poet,  we  will  quote,  in  his  own  words,  his  address  to  the  great 


<£cuit)  (Encjltslj  Cttrratitre.  69 

This  letter  of  Don  Bernaldino  was  most  joyfully  welcomed  in 
Spain,  and  instantly  printed ;  and  coming  to  the  knowledge  of 
Captain  Savile,  who  had  commanded  the  Adventure  in  the  West 
Indian  voyage,  he  undertook  to  answer  it,  point  by  point,  begin 
ning  with  the  false  statement  of  the  cause  and  place  of  death  of 
Drake,  and  insisting  further,  that  the  Spanish  ships  of  war  were 
twenty,  while  the  force  of  the  English  was  far  inferior,  and  that 
the  latter  had  compelled  the  former  to  sheer  off,  and  to  avoid  an 
action,  which  the  English  challenged. 

At  the  back  of  the  title  is  a  woodcut  of  a  sphere,  and  then 
comes  a  brief  address  "  to  the  courteous  Reader."  Next  we  have 
an  introduction,  on  one  page,  to  a  reprint  of  the  letter  of  Don 
Bernaldino  in  Spanish,  informing  us  that  it  had  been  "  found  at 
the  sacking  of  Gales."  The  Spanish  original  fills  eight  pages,  and 
its  translation  as  many  ;  and  to  them  (after  a  page  of  farther 

dramatists  of  his  day,  in  which  he  calls  upon  them  to  abandon  inferior  sub 
jects,  and  to  celebrate  the  name  and  achievements  of  Drake. 
"  0  you,  the  quaint  Tragedians  of  our  times, 

Whose  statelie  shanks  embuskend  by  the  Muses 
Draw  all  the  world  to  wonder  at  your  rimes, 
Whose  sad  Melpomene  robs  Euripides 
And  wins  the  palme  and  price  from  Sophocles, 
While  Poe  and  Seine  are  sicke  to  thinke  upon 
How  Thames  doth  ebbe  and  flowe  pure  Helicon  : 
"  Who  at  your  pleasures  drawe,  or  else  let  downe 

The  floud-hatches  of  all  spectators'  eies, 
Whose  full  braind  temples,  deckt  with  laurell  crowne, 
Ore  worlds  of  harts  with  words  doe  tirannize, 
To  whom  all  Theaters  sing  plaudities, 
While  you  with  golden  chaines  of  well-tun'd  songes 
Linke  all  mens  eares  and  teares  unto  your  tongues  : 
"  Cease  to  eternize  in  your  marble  verse 
The  fals  of  fortune-tossed  Venerists 
And  straine  your  tragicke  Muses  to  rehearse 
The  high  exploites  of  Jove-borne  Martialists, 
Where  smoakie  gun-shot  clouds  the  air  with  mists, 
Where  groves  of  speares,  pitch'd  ready  for  the  fight, 
Dampe  up  the  element  from  Eagles  sight." 

That  Fitzgeffrey  had  Shakspeare  in  his  mind  when  he  wrote  the  above 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  almost  quotes  one  of  our  great  dramatist's 
lines,  (1  Henry  IV.  A.  II.  sc.  4,)  with  the  alteration  of  the  word  u  flood- 
hatches  "  for  flood-gates.  It  is  the  earliest  allusion  to  the  play. 


70  Bibliographical  Tlccottnt  of 

explanation)  is  subjoined  Savile's  brief  answers  to^each  of  the  six 
Spanish  lies.  A  narrative,  headed,  "  The  Meeting  of  our  English 
Navie  and  the  Spanish  fleete,  and  the  order  of  our  encounter,** 
follows  upon  seven  pages,  subscribed  Henrie  Savile ;  and  the  last 
four  pages  consist  of  "  Thomas  Baskervile,  Knight,  his  approbation 
to  this  Booke." 

This  last  is  a  composition  of  a  singular  character,  and  not  incon 
sistent  with  the  chivalrous  nature  of  some  of  the  incidents  of  war 
fare  in  those  times  ;  for,  after  Baskerville  has  borne  testimony  to 
the  truth  of  Savile's  representation,  he  ends  with  a  challenge  of 
Don  Bernaldino  to  a  personal  encounter.  "  I  then  saye,"  he  ob 
serves,  "  that  hee  falsely  lyed  ;  and  that  I  will  maintain  against 
him,  with  whatsoever  Armes  he  shall  make  choyce  of,"  in  any 
"  indifferent  kingdom."  Baskerville  adds  that  if  he  should  be  em 
ployed  by  the  Queen  in  France,  he  sees  no  reason  why  Don  Ber 
naldino  should  not  meet  him  there  to  settle  the  question.  This  is 
signed  "  Finis.  Tho.  B.,"  and  a  ship  of  war  in  full  sail  fills  up  a 
blank  near  the  bottom  of  the  last  page. 

We  have  described  this  historical  tract  the  more  minutely,  be 
cause  we  are  not  aware  that  the  contents  of  it  have  been  previously 
noticed  —  certainly  not  in  the  ordinary  biographies  of  Drake  and 
Hawkins. 


BASSE,  WILLIAM.  —  Great  Brittaines  Sunnes-set,  bewailed 
with  a  shower  of  Teares.  By  William  Basse.  —  At 
Oxford,  Printed  by  Joseph  Barnes.  1613.  8vo. 

It  is  singular  that  a  man  who  wrote  lines  on  the  death  of  Shak- 
speare,  (not  however  printed  in  the  folio  1623,  as  Dr.  Bliss  erro 
neously  states  in  his  edit,  of  Wood's  Aih.  Oxon.  iv.  222,)  who  put 
forth  the  above  poem  on  the  demise  of  Prince  Henry,  who  con 
tributed  verses  in  the  "Annalia  Dubrensia,"  1636,  and  made  a  MS. 
collection  of  his  poems  under  the  title  of  "  Polyhymnia,"  intending 
them  for  the  press,  should  not  have  attracted  more  attention  from 
bibliographers :  even  the  title  of  his  "  Great  Brittaines  Sunnes-set " 
has  been  absurdly  misquoted,  and  called  "  Summer-set,"  as  if  the 
island  had  taken  to  vaulting  on  the  death  of  Prince  Henry. 


(Engltsl)  Citcrature.  71 

Wood  informs  us  that  Basse  was  "  sometime  a  retainer  to  the 
Lord  Wenman  of  Thame  Park,"  Oxfordshire,  and  his  poem,  the 
title  of  which  is  at  the  head  of  the  present  article,  is  inscribed 
"  to  his  honourable  Master  S?  Richard  Wenman,  Knight."  It  is 
merely  a  fragment,  consisting  of  eight  pages,  but  it  is  the  whole 
that  has  been  preserved  :  it  is  in  what  the  Italians  call  ottava  rima, 
only  a  single  stanza  on  each  page  numbered  5,  6,  7,  8,  13,  14; 
but  with  the  peculiarity,  that  the  two  lines  which  conclude  the 
octave  consist  of  twelve  syllables  each  :  thus,  in  st.  8  we  read  as 
follows,  where  Basse  calls  his  Muse  "young,"  as  if  he  were  inex 
perienced  in  poetry,  though  his  lines  are  smooth  enough :  — 

"  Here  then  run  forth,  thou  river  of  my  woes, 

In  cease  lesse  currents  of  complaining  verse; 

Here  weepe  (young  Muse)  while  elder  pens  compose 

More  solemn  Rites  unto  his  sacred  Hearse : 

And  as  when  happy  earth  did  here  enclose 

His  heav'nly  minde,  his  fame  then  Heav'n  did  pierce; 
Now  He  in  Heav'n  doth  rest,  now  let  his  Fame  earth  fill; 
So  both  him  then  possess'd,  so  both  possesse  him  still." 

In  fact,  tolerably  easy  versification,  with  thoughts  naturally  be 
coming  the  subject,  but  without  any  great  originality,  are  all  we 
can  discover  in  the  relic  before  us,  which  terminates  with  this 
stanza :  — 

"  Like  a  high  Pyramis,  in  all  his  towers 
Finish'd  this  morning,  and  laid  prostrate  soone; 
Like  as  if  Nights  blacke  and  incestuous  howers 
Should  force  Apollo's  beauty  before  noone: 
Like  as  some  strange  change  in  the  heav'nly  powers 
Should  in  hir  full  quench  the  refulgent  Moone; 
So  He  his  daies,  his  light,  and  his  life  here  expir'd, 
New  built  most  sun-like  bright,  ful  man  and  most  admir'd." 

The  preceding  stanza,  we  are  inclined  to  think,  is  about  the 
worst  of  those  that  here  remain  to  us.  We  have  mentioned  above 
that  Basse  collected  some  of  his  scattered  pieces  —  apparently  for 
the  press,  because  they  were  regularly  dedicated  in  MS.  to  Lady 
Bridget  Countess  of  Lindsey,  under  the  title  of  "  Polyhymnia." 
This  must  have  been  late  in  Basse's  life,  as  one  of  the  poems  is 
dated  June  19,  1648,  and  another  is  addressed  to  Lady  Falkland 


72  Hibltojjrapljtcal  ^Iccottnt  of 

on  her  journey  into  Ireland.  The  volume  was  lent  to  us  nearly 
forty  years  ago  by  its  then  owner,  Mr.  Heber,  but  it  contained  no 
production  of  any  great  merit  or  interest.  The  longest  was  a 
species  of  unexplained  allegory,  entitled  "The  Youth  in  the  Boat," 
and  what  seemed  its  purpose  was  set  out  in  the  three  following  in 
troductory  stanzas  :  — 

"  When  we  our  young  and  wanton  houres 

Have  spent  in  vaine  delight, 
To  shew  you  how  celestiall  powers 
At  length  can  set  us  right; 

"  How  they  can  frame  our  mindes  unfixt 

Unto  their  just  directions, 
When  waveringly  we  reele  betwixt 
Opinions  or  affections; 

"  How  fatall  it  may  sometimes  prove 

Unto  our  frayle  estate, 
Vainely  to  hate  what  we  should  love, 
And  love  what  we  should  hate." 

The  sonnet  to  Lady  Falkland  on  her  going  to  Ireland  is  ingen 
ious,  but  far  below  excellence  :  it  is  this :  — 

"  What  happy  song  might  my  Muse  take  in  hand, 

Great  Lady,  to  deserve  your  Muses  care? 
Or  skill  to  hold  you  in  this  amorous  land, 

That  held  you  first,  and  holds  you  still  so  deare  ? 
Must  needs  your  anchor  taste  another  sand, 

Cause  you  your  praise  are  nobly  loth  to  heare  ? 

Be  sure  your  praises  are  before  you  there, 
How  much  your  fame  exceeds  your  Caracts  sayle : 

Nay,  more  than  so ;  your  selfe  are  every  where 
In  worth,  but  where  the  world  of  worth  doth  fayle. 

What  boots  it,  then,  to  drive,  or  what  to  steere? 
What  doth  the  axle  or  the  oare  avayle, 

Since  whence  you  ride  you  cannot  part  away, 

And  may  performe  your  voyage,  though  you  stay." 

This  production  savors  more  of  an  age  of  conceit  than  of  genius, 
and  the  style  is  nearer  the  time  of  Charles  II.  than  of  Elizabeth. 
Basse  seems  to  have  been  of  a  sporting,  rather  than  of  a  sportive 
turn  of  mind,  and  he  has  several  pieces  of  a  racing  character,  both 
of  bipeds  and  quadrupeds :  one  is  .upon  a  contention  between  two 


(Earls  (Etiglts!)  fittratttre.  73 

Irish  footmen,  who  executed  twenty-four  miles  in  three  minutes 
less  than  three  hours.  In  other  poems,  upon  horse  -  racing,  or 
horse-coursing,  as  it  was  then  called,  he  mentions  the  names  of 
many  favorites  of  that  day,  —  Crop-ear,  Friskin,  Kill-deer,  Her 
ring,  Pegabrig,  etc.  He  bears  testimony  to  the  pains,  even  then, 
taken  with  the  breeding  of  horses :  — 

"  These  prov'd  themselves  from  Pegasus  derived : 

There  doth  the  northern  spur  oft  draw  a  rayne 

From  the  fleet  flanks  of  Barbary  or  Spayne, 

And  wilde  Arabia,  whose  tincture  dyed 

Greene  earth  with  purple  staynes  of  bestiall  pride." 

Perhaps,  in  the  second  line  above,  we  ought  to  read  vayne,  L  e. 
vein,  for  "  rayne  "  :  the  handwriting  was  obviously  that  of  a  copy 
ist,  and  not  of  Basse  himself.  The  following  lines,  near  the  end, 
show  that  such  had  been  the  early  subjects  of  his  verse,  of  which 
we  do  not  find  a  printed  trace,  and  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected, 
in  what  he  wrote  in  1613  on  the  death  of  Prince  Henry :  — 

"  Lo!  but  too  ofte  of  man  and  horse,  when  young, 
The  naked  heele  and  hammered  hoofe  I  sung; 
Which  now  to  heare,  or  reade,  might  please  some  men, 
Perchance,  as  youthful  now  as  I  was  then." 

Basse's  lines,  headed  "  An  Epitaph  upon  Shakespeare,"  were 
not  printed  until  1633,  when  they  were  erroneously  assigned  to 
Dr.  Donne.  (See  Donne's  Poems,  4to,  1633,  p.  149.)  They  had 
then  been  long  in  circulation  in  MS.,  as  by  Basse,  to  whom  they 
really  belong ;  and  they  had  the  honor  of  being  alluded  to  by  Ben 
Jonson,  in  his  noble  poem,  prefixed  to  the  folio  1623,  "  To  the 
Memory  of  my  beloved,  the  Author,  Mr.  William  Shakespeare." 
We  apprehend  that  pieces  attributed  to  William  Bas,  printed  in 
1602,  (see  Lowndes's  B.  M.  edit.  1857,  p.  126,)  were  not  by  Basse, 
who  had  spoken  of  his  "  young  Muse  "  in  1613. 


BASTARD,  THOMAS.  —  Chrestoleros.    Seven  bookes  of  Epi- 
grames  written  by  T.  B. 

Hunc  novere  modum  nostri  servare  libelli, 
Parcere  personis  :  dicere  de  vitiis. 


74  BibUojjrapIjtcal  Account  of 

Imprinted  at  London  by  Richard  Bradocke  for  I.  B.  and 
are  to  be  sold  at  her  shop,  &c.     1598.     8vo.     95  leaves. 

The  dedication  to  Sir  Charles  Blunt,  Lord  Mountjoy,  is  sub 
scribed  at  length  "  Thomas  Bastard  "  ;  and,  consistently  with  the 
motto  on  his  title-page,  the  author  says  of  his  work,  "  I  have  taught 
Epigrams  to  speak  chastlie ;  besides,  I  have  acquainted  them  with 
more  gravity  of  sense,  and  barring  them  of  their  olde  libertie,  not 
onelie  forbidden  them  to  be  personall,  but  turned  all  their  bitter- 
nesse  rather  into  sharpnesse."  According  to  an  Epigram  upon 
Bastard  by  Sir  John  Harington,  printed  in  1615,  but  no  doubt 
written  soon  after  Chrestoleros  first  appeared,  the  author  was  at 
the  time  in  orders,  and  credit  is  there  given  to  him  both  for  his 
design  and  execution  :  — 

"  And  this  I  note,  your  verses  have  intendment, 

Still  kept  within  the  lists  of  good  sobriety, 
To  work  in  men's  ill  manners  good  amendment." 

These  lines  and  others  are  addressed  to  "  Master  Bastard,  a 
Minister,  that  made  a  pleasant  Book  of  English  Epigrams."  In 
1615,  Bastard  published  some  Sermons,  he  then  having  the  living 
of  Bore-Regis,  Dorsetshire  ;  but  it  seems  that  he  subsequently  was 
imprisoned  for  debt,  and  died  in  1618.  No  doubt,  he  brought  out 
his  Chrestoleros  in  1598,  to  relieve  his  present  necessity,  although 
he  complains  that  he  could  find  no  printer  who  would  give  him  a 
fair  price  for  it.  The  Epigram  (21  Liber  i.),  in  which  he  mentions 
this  fact,  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  volume. 

"  De  Typographo. 

"  The  Printer,  when  I  askt  a  little  summe, 
Hnckt  with  me  for  my  booke  and  came  not  nere; 
Ne  could  my  reason  or  perswasion 
Move  him  a  whit,  though  all  things  now  were  deere. 
Hath  my  conceipt  no  helpe  to  set  it  forth? 
Are  all  things  deere,  and  is  wit  nothing  worth?  " 

The  Epigrams  extend  over  a  considerable  space  of  time,  from 
about  the  year  1580  downwards ;  but  there  is  some  reason  to 
think  that  Ritson  erred  when  (Bibl.  Poet.  126)  he  noticed  an  edi 
tion  of  1584.  None  such  is  now  known ;  and  if  it  ever  existed,  it 
could  not  have  contained  much  that  wasjninted  in  1598,  referring 


<£arlg  <£ngli0lj  literature.  75 

to  events  long  subsequent  to  1584.  It  appears  from  Epigr.  4  of 
Liber  ii.,  inscribed  to  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  that  Bastard  resided  and 
•wrote  chiefly  in  the  country.  Epigr.  6  of  Liber  vi.  is  addressed  — 

"Ad  Thomam  Egerton,  equitem,  Custodem  Magni  Siyilli. 
"  Egerton,  all  the  artes  whom  thou  dost  cherish 

Sing  to  thy  praises  most  melodiously, 

And  register  thee  to  eternitie, 

Forbidding  thee,  as  thou  dost  them,  to  perish: 

And  artes  praise  the[e]  and  she  which  is  above, 

Whom  thou  above  all  artes  dost  so  protect, 

And  for  her  sake  all  sciences  respect; 

Arts  soveraigne  mistresse,  whom  thy  soule  doth  love. 
Thus  you  as  stars  in  earth  and  heaven  shine, 
Thou  hers  on  earth,  and  she  in  heaven  thine." 

The  following  is  addressed  to  a  poet  of  considerable  celebrity 
in  his  day,  of  whom  we  have  no  printed  remains  :  it  shows  the 
nature  of  his  productions.  It  is  Epigr.  27  of  Liber  iii. : 

" Ad  Richardum  Eeds. 

"  Eeds,  onely  thou  an  Epigram  dost  season 
With  a  sweete  taste  and  relish  of  enditing; 
With  sharpes  of  sense  and  delicates  of  reason, 
With  salt  of  witt  and  wonderfull  delighting; 
For,  in  my  judgement,  him  thou  hast  exprest 
In  whose  sweet  mouth  hony  did  build  her  nest" 


BAXTER,  NICHOLAS.  —  Sir  Philip  Sydneys  Ourania,  That 
is  Endimions  Song  and  Tragedie  Containing  all  Phi- 
losophie.  Written  by  N.  B.  —  London  Printed  by  Ed. 
Allde,  for  Edward  White,  and  are  to  be  solde  at  the 
little  North  doore  of  Saint  Paules  Church,  at  the  signe 
of  the  Gun.  1606.  4to.  52  leaves. 

Our  main  object  in  speaking  of  this  very  dull  and  elaborate 
work  is  to  prove  that  it  does  not  belong  to  Nicholas  Breton,  to 
whom  it  has  always  been  attributed,  but  to  Nicholas  Baxter ;  and 
our  authority  (which  we,  many  years  ago,  communicated  to  the 
late  Rev.  Joseph  Hunter)  is  a  copy  of  the  work  signed,  and 


76  Bibliographical  Jtaount  of 

throughout  corrected,  by  the  author,  now  before  us.1  In  different 
places  he  also  puns  upon  his  own  name  as  Tergaster,  and  calls  an 
adversary  Baxtero-mastix. 

He  claims  at  one  time  to  have  been  tutor  to  Sir  Philip  Sidney, 
and  to  have  been  in  favor  with  the  Countess  of  Pembroke  and 
her  family  ;  but,  for  some  unexplained  cause,  having  forfeited  her 
patronage,  he  had  penned  some  portion  of  his  "Ourania"  in 
Wood-street  Counter.  We  apprehend  that  he  was  in  the  Church, 
although  he  nowhere  states  the  fact  distinctly :  under  his  pastoral 
name  of  Endimion  he  admits  his  obligations  to  John  Stone,  Esq., 
"  Secondary  of  the  Counter  in  Wood-street,"  while  he  was  in  con 
finement  there  for  debt. 

The  main  body  of  Baxter's  poem  is  an  explanation,  in  couplets, 
of  all  branches  of  natural  philosophy ;  and  he  informs  us  that 
while  he  was  piping  as  a  shepherd  in  some  part  of  Wales,  he  was 
accosted  by  Cynthia  (i.  e.  Lady  Pembroke)  and  her  attendant 
Nymphs,  who  asked  him  to  sing  them  a  song,  which  lasts  through 
76  pages.  He  had  rather  a  strange  notion  of  harmony  of  versifi 
cation,  although  he  seems  to  have  been  well  acquainted  not  only 
-with  Sidney,  but  with  Spenser  and  Drayton.  Of  the  last  he  was 
a  special  admirer,  twice  praises  his  "  Owl,"  1604,  and,  what  is 
more  remarkable,  gives  us  the  information  that  Drayton  had  writ 
ten  a  poem  on  the  death  of  Sidney.  It  has,  we  apprehend,  been 
lost  with  various  other  similar  elegies,  and  must  have  preceded 
anything  by  Drayton  that  has  come  down  to  us.  Speaking  of 
Sidney's  fate,  Baxter's  words  are, 

"  0,  noble  Drayton!  well  didst  thou  rehearse 
Our  damages  in  dryrie  sable  verse," 

adding  as  a  note  in  the  margin,  "  Drayton  upon  the  death  of  S.  P. 
S."  This  novel  fact  alone  is  sufficient  to  give  value  to  Baxter's 
"  Ourania."  As  may  be  supposed,  he  is  extremely  discursive  in 

l  It  is  but  fair  to  the  memory  of  that  excellent  antiquary,  the  Kev. 
Joseph  Hunter,  to  say,  that  we  are  not  sure  whether  lie  was  not  the  first 
to  point  out  the  fact  that  Nicholas  Baxter  was  the  author  of  the  work  en 
titled  "  Sir  Philip  Sidney's  Ourania,"  1606.  We  think  that  we  confirmed 
his  statement  by  the  production  of  our  volnme,  signed  and  corrected  by 
Baxter,  which  we  subsequently  lent  to  him. 


j  (fncjltslj  £ttrratitre.  77 

his  long-drawn-out  philosophical  dissertation,  or  "  song,"  and  in 
many  places  attempts  to  be  severe  and  satirical :  thus,  to  Usurers, 
he  says : — 

"  You  dampne  your  selves  and  sweare  that  money's  scant, 
But  rich  commodities  you  shall  not  want, 
That  certaine  money  presently  will  yeeld 
If  he  be  skilfull  to  marshall  the  field: 
Silks  and  velvets  at  intolerable  price, 
Embroydered  Hangars,  Pepper  and  Rice, 
Browne  paper,  Lute-strings,  buckles  for  a  saddle, 
Periwigs,  Tiffany  paramours  to  waddle,"  &c. 

This  is  only  the  old  story,  told  in  prose  long  before  by  Nash 
and  other  sufferers.  The  main  body  of  the  tract  is  introduced  by 
nine  pages  of  seven-line  stanzas,  and  as  many  stanzas  and  pages 
follow  it,  but  we  cannot  say  that  the  stanzas  are  any  improvement 
upon  the  couplets.  About  the  middle  of  the  work  we  meet  with 
a  notice  of  Dr.  Muffet  by  name,  together  with  high  praise  of 
his  poem,  "  Silkworms  and  their  Flies,"  1599,  for  which  seepost, 
under  MUFFET. 


BEAUMONT,  FRANCIS.  —  Salmasis  and  Hermaphroditus. 
Salmacida  spolia  sine  sanguine  et  sudore.  —  Imprinted 
at  London  for  lohn  Hodgets :  And  are  to  be  sold  at  his 
shop  in  Fleete-street,  at  the  signe  of  the  Flowre  de 
Luce,  neere  Fetter-lane.  1602.  4to.  20  leaves. 

Only  two  copies  of  this  edition  are  known  :  one  of  them  is  in  the 
Bodleian  Library,  and  the  other  before  us.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Dyce, 
in  his  edition  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  Works,  admits  that  he 
had  never  seen  it,  (xi.  p.  441,)  and  contented  himself  with  the 
later  impressions.  The  name  of  Beaumont  nowhere  appears  in  the 
first  edition  of  1602;  and  an  examination  of  it,  compared  with 
impressions  of  1640  (see  the  next  article),  1653,  and  1660,  leads 
to  the  belief  that  he  was  in  no  way,  and  at  no  time,  concerned 
in  it. 

The  attribution  of  it  to  him  seems  to  have  been  merely  a  book 
seller's  trick,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  more  ready  sale.  "  Sal- 


78  Bibliojjrapljkal  ^Urotmt  of 

masls  and  Hermaphroditus  "  was,  we  see,  originally  published  in 
1602,  and  without  the  slightest  mark  of  authorship;  but  when  it 
appeared  again  in  1640,  "printed  by  Richard  Hodgkinson  for 
W.  W.  and  Laurence  Blaikelocke,"  it  was  accompanied  by  various 
other  pieces,  all  stated  on  the  title-page  to  be  "  by  Francis  Beau 
mont,  Gent."  In  order  to  give  an  appearance  of  truth  to  this  state 
ment,  the  initials  F.  B.  were  appended  to  the  anonymous  verses 
which  in  1602  introduce  "  Salmasis  and  Hermaphroditus  ";  and 
not  only  so,  but  other  preliminary  verses  "  to  the  Author,"  signed 
A.  F.  in  1602,  were  altered  in  1640  to  I.  F.,  as  if  to  show  that 
Beaumont's  friend,  John  Fletcher,  had  borne  testimony  to  their 
authorship  and  excellence.  Another  edition,  much  enlarged,  was 
published  by  Blaikelocke  in  1653  ;  and  the  trick  against  Beaumont 
having  been  played  with  success  in  1640  and  1653,  in  1660  a 
farther  and  bolder  experiment,  of  the  same  kind,  was  tried  by 
the  same  bookseller  ;  for  then  the  very  same  poems,  not  even  re 
printed,  were  put  forth  with  a  new  title-page,  as  "  the  golden 
Remains  of  those  so  much  admired  Dramatick  Poets,  Francis 
Beaumont  and  John  Fletcher."  "  Salmasis  and  Hermaphroditus  " 
was  then  accompanied  by  many  additional  poems,  which,  though 
assigned  to  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  were  in  fact  by  other  authors 
of  the  time,  from  Ben  Jonson  to  Waller. 

Francis  Beaumont  is  stated  to  have  been  born  in  1586,  so  that 
at  the  date  when  "  Salmasis  and  Hermaphroditus  "  first  appeared 
he  was  only  sixteen ;  and  although  it  is  by  no  means  impossible,  it 
seems  improbable  that  at  so  early  an  age  he  should  have  written 
so  elaborate  a  production.  We  are  to  bear  in  mind  also,  that  it 
was  originally  printed  without  claim  on  the  part  of  anybody  to 
have  been  the  author  of  it. 

In  the  edition  of  1602  the  introductory  and  commendatory 
verses  are  thus  arranged  :  1.  A  Sonnet  "  To  the  true  patroriesse 
of  all  Poetrie,  Calliope,"  which  has  no  initials  at  the  end  of  it. 
2.  Another  Sonnet,  In  laudem  Authoris,  subscribed  W.  B.  3.  A 
third  Sonnet,  "  To  the  Author,"  with  the  initials  I.  B.  4.  Three 
six-line  stanzas,  «  To  the  Author,"  by  A.  F.  5.  Ten  lines,  "  The 
Author  to  the  Reader,"  without  signature.  These,  with  the  title- 
page,  occupy  the  four  first  leaves,  and  "  Salmasis  and  Hermaphro- 


u  (Jhtglislj  Citcrature.  79 

ditus  "  commences  sheet  B.  We  are,  of  course,  not  prepared  to 
assert  definitively  that  it  is  not  by  Beaumont,  and  perhaps  in  a 
note  to  Shakspeare  (edit.  1858, 1.  cxvi.)  too  positive  an  opinion  is 
expressed  against  its  authenticity. 

Without  touching  further  upon  the  preliminary  matter,  in  which 
there  are  several  important  blunders  in  Blaikelocke's  editions, 
such  as  "  half-mad  "  for  half-maid,  &c.,  we  will  notice  a  few  of 
the  gross  misprints  in  the  body  of  the  poem.  First  of  all,  the  copy 
of  1602  enables  us  to  restore  the  folio  wing  couplet,  entirely  omitted 
in  all  subsequent  impressions  :  — 

"Nor  took  she  painted  quivers,  nor  a  dart, 
Nor  put  her  lazy  idlenesse  apart." 

They  occur  on  sign.  C  2b  of  the  copy  of  1602.  In  a  subse 
quent  line  two  errors  have  obscured,  or  altered,  the  poet's  mean 
ing,  for  instead  of  reprinting 

"  That  should  proceed  from  thy  thrice  radiant  sight," 
Blaikelocke  gave  it  — 

That  should  proceed  from  thy  chief  radiant  light; 

and  no  later  editor  has  seen,  or  attempted  to  correct,  the  non 
sense.  Further  on,  the  line  — 

"  If  any  wife  with  thy  sweet  bed  be  blest," 
is  altered  to 

If  any's  wish  with  thy  sweet  bed  be  blest. 

Elsewhere  we  have  tippling  substituted  for  "  tickling,"  lively  for 
"  shamefac'd,"  white  for  "  moist,"  mere  for  "  neare,"  and  many 
other  blunders,  which  render  the  impressions  of  1640,  1653,  and 
1660  not  only  trustless,  but  worthless;  independently  of  the  orig 
inal  and  unscrupulous  fraud  of  imputing  the  poem  to  Beaumont, 
who,  most  likely,  never  had  anything  to  do  with  it. 


BEAUMONT,  FRANCIS.  —  Poems  :  by  Francis  Beaumont, 
Gent.  viz.  The  Hermaphrodite,  The  Remedie  of  Love, 
Elegies,  Sonnets,  with  other  Poems.  —  London,  Printed 


80  Bibliographical  Account  of 

by  Richard  Hodgkinson  for  W.  W.  and  Laurence 
Blaikelocke,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  the  signe  of  the 
Sugar-loafe  next  Temple-Bar  in  Fleet-street.  1640. 
4to.  39  leaves. 

This  is  the  fraudulent  edition  to  which  we  have  referred  in  the 
preceding  article,  and  in  which  certain  changes  were  made  in  the 
preliminary  matter,  in  order  to  induce  the  belief  that  Beaumont 
was  really  the  author  of  the  volume.  This  is'  impossible,  since  it 
includes'several  pieces  written  by  King,  Randolph,  &c. ;  and  two 
others,  upon  indisputable  evidence  now  first  afforded,  do  not  be 
long  to  Beaumont. 

After  two  Elegies,  one  "  on  the  Lady  Markham,"  the  other 
anonymous,  we  arrive  at  certain  miscellaneous  poems,  the  first  of 
which  is  called  "A  Charme,"  in  six  four-line  stanzas,  beginning, 

"  Sleepe,  old  man,  let  silence  charme  thee,"  &c. ; 

and  at  the  end  of  it  Henry  Lawes  (who  gave  the  book,  with  notes 
and  a  MS.  inscription,  to  the  Earl  of  Bridgewater)  has  placed  the 
initials  H.  H.,  with  this  addition  in  his  own  handwriting :  "  this 
coppy  of  verses  was  made  by  Henry  Harrington,  and  set  by  Henry 
Lawes,  1636."  Again,  on  sign.  1.  4,  we  meet  with  a  poem  called 
"  Loves  freedome,"  at  the  end  of  which  Lawes  wrote  "  H.  II.  :  this 
song  was  made  by  Henry  Harrington,  and  set  by  Henry  Lawes, 
1636."  As  far,  therefore,  as  these  pieces  are  concerned,  the  evi 
dence  is  conclusive.  •  On  sign.  K  is  Bishop  Earle's,  Elegy  on  Beau 
mont,  which  seems  to  have  been  designed  to  end  the  volume ; 
but,  as  there  were  still  a  few  spare  pages,  the  printer  added  two 
other  poems,  one  of  them  "  an  Epitaph  "  on  a  lady  who  had  mar 
ried  a  relative,  and  the  other  the  celebrated  piece  headed  "  a 
Sonnet,"  and  commencing,  — 

"  Like  a  ring  without  a  finger 
Or  a  bell  without  a  ringer,"  &c. 

We  have  a  MS.  copy  of  this  poem,  presenting  some  curious 
variations  from  the  printed  text. 


(fngltslj  literature.  81 

BENDISH,  SIR  THOMAS.  —  Newes  from  Turkie  or  a  true 
Relation  of  the  passages  of  the  Right  Honourable  Sir 
Tho.  Bendish,  Baronet,  Lord  Ambassadour  with  the 
Grand  Signieur  at  Constantinople,  his  entertainment 
and  reception  there.  Also  a  true  discourse  of  the  un 
just  proceedings  of  Sir  Sackville  Crow,  former  Ambassa 
dour  there  &c.  —  London,  Printed  for  Humphrey  Blun- 
den  &c.  1648.  4to.  19  leaves. 

This  is  an  attack  upon  Sir  Sackvile  Crow  for  making  exactions 
from  the  British  merchants,  for  producing  pretended  credentials 
from  the  king,  &c.,  until  he  was  superseded  at  Constantinople  by 
Sir  Thomas  Bendish.  The  address  to  the  reader  is  subscribed  TV. 
L.,  who  had  access  to  the  original  but  uninteresting  documents, 
which  he  prints  in  the  body  of  the  tract. 


BERNERS,  LORD.  —  Arthur  of  Brytayn.  The  hystory  of 
the  moost  noble  and  valyaunt  knyght  Authur  of  lytell 
brytayne,  translated  out  of  frensshe  in  to  englushe  by 
the  noble  Johan  bourghcher  knyght  lorde  Earners, 
newly  Imprynted,  n.  d.  B.  L.  fol.  179  leaves. 

The  words  "  Arthur  of  Brytayn"  are  upon  a  scroll,  immediately 
under  which  is  the  title  more  at  large,  and,  beneath  that,  the 
figure  of  a  knight  and  his  esquire,  both  armed  and  on  horse 
back.  The  colophon  is  as  follows :  "  Here  endeth  the  hystory 
of  Arthur  of  lytell  Brytayne.  Imprynted  at  London  in  Powles 
churche  yeard  at  the  sygne  of  the  Cocke  by  Roberte  Redborne." 

Only  one  other  perfect  copy  of  this  romance  appears  to  exist, 
and  the  late  Mr.  Utterson  made  his  reprint  of  it  in  1814,  partly 
from  his  own  defective  exemplar,  and  partly  from  Lord  Spencer's 
complete  one.  No  other  work  bears  the  name  of  Robert  Red- 
bourne  as  the  printer,  and  it  is  impossible  to  fix  the  date  of  it 
with  any  precision.  The  types  are  old  and  worn,  the  execution 
slovenly,  and  the  woodcuts,  which  are  numerous,  coarse  and  un 
couth.  The  best  of  the  latter  represents  the  hero  on  the  title- 

VOL.   I.  6 


32  Bibliographical  Jlaoitnt  of 

page,  which  had  also  been  used  by  Wynkyn  de  Worde  for 
"  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,"  in.  the  romance  of  that  name,  printed 
in  1528. 

The  Prologue,  headed  "  Here  foloweth  the  translatours  pro 
logue,"  is  at  the  back  of  the  title-page,  in  which  Lord  Berners 
says :  —  «  Wherefore  after  that  I  had  begon  this  sayd  processe, 
I  haue  determined  to  haue  left  and  gyuen  vp  my  laboure,  for  I 
thoughte  it  sholde  haue  be  reputed  but  a  folye  in  me  to  translate 
beseming  such  a  fayned  mater,  wherin  semeth  to  be  so  many  vn- 
possybylytees."  However,  he  called  to  mind  the  numerous  vol 
umes  of  the  same  kind  that  he  had  read,  and  concluding  "  that 
this  present  treatyse  myght  as  well  be  reputed  for  trouth  as  some 
of  those,"  he  finished  his  undertaking,  "  not  presumynge,"  he 
adds,  "  that  I  haue  reduced  it  into  fresshe,  ornate,  polysshed  eng- 
lysshe,  for  I  knowe  my  selfe  insuffycyent  in  the  facondyous  arte  of 
rethoryke,  nor  also  I  am  but  a  lerner  of  the  language  of  frensshe." 

The  Tabula,  or  heads  of  the  one  hundred  and  seventeen  chap 
ters  into,  which  the  work  is  divided,  fills  the  next  five  leaves,  when 
we  arrive  at  the  romance  itself,  beginning  with  the  birth  of  Ar 
thur,  who  was  the  son  of  a  Duke  of  Britain,  (or  Brittany,)  by  a 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  "  Afterward,"  we  are  told, 
"  he  grew  to  be  the  moost  fayre  creature  that  than  was  founde  in 
all  crystendome."  The  woodcut  representations  of  him  do  not 
exactly  accord  with  this  description  of  the  hero. 

The  last  folio  in  the  volume  should  be  clxxiv,  but  it  is,  in  fact, 
only  numbered  Ixix,  and  dlher  errors  of  the  same  kind  occur. 


BEST,  GEORGE.  —  A  true  Discovrse  of  the  late  voyages  of 
discouerie,  for  the  finding  of  a  passage  to  Cathaya,  by 
the  Northweast,  vnder  the  conduct  of  Martin  Frobisher 
Generall :  Deuided  into  three  Bookes.  &c.  —  At  Lon 
don,  Imprinted  by  Henry  Bynnyman,  seruant  to  the 
right  Honourable  Sir  Christopher  Hatton  Vizchamber- 
laine.  Anno  Domini  1578.  4to.  B.  L.  88  leaves. 

The  extreme  scarcity  of  copies  of  this  work,  and  the  want, 
therefore,  of  the  means  of  comparison,  have  prevented  bibliog- 


<£arb  (Englisl)  iuterature.  83 

raphers  from  noting  a  singular  circumstance  connected  with  its 
original  publication. 

The  fact  is,  that  the  dedication  by  George  Best  to  Sir  Chris 
topher  Hatton,  as  it  was  first  printed,  was  cancelled,  and  in  the 
copy  we  have  used  the  cancelled  dedication  has  been  preserved, 
and  no  other  substituted.  There,  one  passage,  beginning  "  name 
of  God  hath  not  once  bin  hearde  of,"  and  ending  "  and  of  governe- 
ment  good  for  any  good  place  of  service,"  consisting  of  fifteen 
lines,  has  been  inserted  twice  over,  making  utter  nonsense  of  the 
whole.  This  blunder  rendered  it  necessary  that  the  dedication 
should  be  reprinted ;  and  in  the  Grenville  copy  in  the  British  Mu 
seum,  and  in  one  other  we  have  had  an  opportunity  of  examining, 
it  has  been  reprinted.  In  a  single  paragraph  no  fewer  than  eigh 
teen  variations,  of  more  or  less  importance,  exist,  one  of  them  being 
the  insertion  of  the  epithet  "  notable  "  before  "  discoveries,"  where 
it  is  said,  in  the  first  copy,  "wee  may  truely  inferre  that  the  Eng 
lishman,  in  these  our  dayes,  in  his  discoveries  to  the  Spaniarde 
and  Portingale  is  nothing  inferior." 

As  we  have  mentioned  the  book  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  record 
ing  this  peculiarity,  we  may  take  the  opportunity  of  describing  the 
copy  in  our  hands,  in  order  that  others  may  be  able  to  make  the 
comparison,  if  an  exemplar  should  ever  fall  in  their  way.  At  the 
back  of  the  title-page  begins  an  account  of  "  What  commodities 
and  instructions  may  be  reaped  by  diligent  reading  of  this  Dis 
course  "  :  it  occupies  two  pages,  and  at  the  back  of  sign.  A  ij  are 
the  Hatton  arms,  faced  by  the  commencement  of  the  dedication 
filling  8  pages,  the  third  page,  by  mistake,  being  marked  Aiij,  in 
stead  of  Aiiij.  An  address,  "  The  Printer  to  the  Reader,"  begins 
upon  b  iij,  and  occupies  four  pages,  "  The  fyrst  Booke  of  the  first 
voyage  of  Martin  Frobisher  "  commencing  sign.  C  and  numbered 
p.  1.  This  part  of  the  volume  runs  on  to  p.  52,  when  we  arrive  at 
"  A  true  Reporte  of  such  things  as  hapned  in  the  second  voyage 
of  Captayne  Frobysher,"  &c.  It  runs  on,  with  a  fresh  pagination, 
to  p.  39,  after  which  comes  a  map  ;  and  then  "  The  thirde  voyage  " 
begins,  also  with  a  fresh  pagination,  from  1  to  68,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  is  the  printer's  colophon,  "  At  London,  Printed  by  Henry 
Bynnyman.  Anno  Domini.  1578.  Decembris  10."  A  second 
map  is  unfortunately  wanting  in  our  copy. 


84  Bibliographical  Account  of 

BEVIS,  OF  HAMPTON.  —  Syr  Beuis  of  Hampton.  Newly 
Corrected  and  amended.  —  London,  Printed  by  William 
Stansby.  n.  d.  B.  L.  4to.  34  leaves. 

This  romance  was  originally  printed  by  Pynson,  afterwards  by 
William  Copland,  and  thirdly  by  Thomas  East :  the  edition  before 
us,  (of  which  no  other  exemplar  seems  to  be  known,)  like  the  three 
which  preceded  it,  has  no  date,  but  made  its  appearance  about 
1620.  Jn  "Henry  VIII." Act  I.  Scene  i.,  Shakspeare  mentions 
Bevis,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  allusion  was  occasioned  by 
the  recent  appearance  of  an  edition  of  the  romance,  —  not,  of 
course,  the  present,  because  it  is  considerably  more  modern  than 
the  time  when,  according  to  plausible  conjecture,  "  Henry  VIH." 
was  originally  brought  out. 

Fourteen  woodcuts  are  inserted  in  different  parts  of  the  vol 
ume.  The  edition  by  Copland  is  in  many  respects  a  moderniza 
tion  of  that  of  Pynson,  which  came  out  perhaps  thirty  or  forty 
years  before  it ;  and  this  edition  by  Stansby  is  a  further  moderni 
zation  of  Copland's  text,  which  preceded  it  perhaps  sixty  or  sev 
enty  years.  To  save  room,  Stansby  printed  two  of  Copland's  lines 
as  only  one,  thus,  — 

"  Listen,  Lordlings,  and  hold  you  still,  of  doubtie  men  tell  you  I  will." 
Sometimes,  apparently  from  oversight,  he  left  out  couplets,  as 
in  the  first  page,  where  Copland  says,  — 

"  While  Sir  Guy  was  younge  and  light 
Knowen  he  was  a  doughty  knight." 

Similar  omissions  by  Stansby  are  not  unfrequent.  The  manner 
in  which  the  romance  was  altered,  to  suit  the  taste  of  readers  of 
the  day,  may  best  be  seen  by  comparing  one  or  two  passages, 
which  will  at  the  same  time  afford  specimens  of  the  poem  itself. 
When  Sir  Guy,  the  father  of  Bevis,  goes  out  to  kill  a  wild  boar 
in  a  wood,  where  he  is  treacherously  slain  by  Sir  Murdure,  Cop 
land  describes  it  as  in  our  first  column,  and  Stansby  as  in  our 
second  :  — 

"  The  Erie  a  courser  gan  stryde,  "  The  Earle  a  Courser  gan  bestride, 
His  swerde  he  hanged  by  his  side :  His  Sword  he  hanged  by  his  side : 
There  myght  no  man  with  him  There  might  no  man  with  him  rin 

rynne  "He  was  the  formost  man  therein. 

He  was  the  formest  man  therm.          Alas,  that  he  had  beene  aware 


(£arlr) 


isl   £  feature. 


85 


Alas,  that  he  had  beware 
Of  his  enemies  that  there  were! 
Whan  he  came  to  the  forest 
He  gan  chase  after  the  beest, 
That  him  herde  syr  Murdure, 
And  escryed  Guy  as  a  traytoure, 
And  pricked  out  before  the  boost 
For  pompyng  pryde  to  make  great 

boost; 

And  to  syr  Guy  gan  he  saye, 
Yelde  thee,  traytoure,  for  by  my 

faye, 
Thou  and  thy  sonne  both  dede 

shalbe 

For  the  love  of  my  lady  free ; 
For  I  her  loved  or  thou  her  knewe : 
Yf  thou   her  haue  it   shall   the 


Of  his  enemies  that  were  there! 
But  when  he  came  to  the  Forrest 
And  was  in  chase  after  the  beast, 
Him  thought  he  heard  Sir  Murdure 
Cry  aloud,  Sir  Guy,  thou  Traytor! 
And  pricked  out  before  his  hoast 
With   promping   pride    and  great 

boast: 

And  to  Sir  Guy  thus  did  he  say, 
Yeeld  thee,  Traytor,  for  by  my  fay, 
Thou  and  thy  sonne  both  dead  shall 

be 

For  the  love  of  thy  Lady  free : 
For  I  her  loved  or  thou  her  knew, 
Yet  thou    her  hast  and    shalt  it 

rew." 


We  take,  as  another  extract  from  Copland,  the  description  of 
Josian,  the  beautiful  daughter  of  the  Pagan  Kirg  Ermine,  who  fell 
in  love  with  Sir  Bevis ;  and,  as  before,  we  place  opposite  to  it 
Stansby's  modernization. 

'  The  King  Ermine  of  that  land 
His  wife  was  dead,  I  understand: 
He  had  a  daughter  faire  and  bright; 
Josian  that  faire  maiden  hight. 
Her    visage    was    white    as    lilly 

flower, 

Therein  ranne  the  red  colour, 
With    bright    browes    and    eyes 

sheene, 

Her  haire  as  gold-wire  was  scene: 
With  comely  nose  and  lips  full 

sweete, 

Lovely  mouth  and  fine  feete : 
Her  teeth  white  and  even  set; 
Her  hands  were  white  as  violet: 
With  strait  body  withouten  lacke, 
Well    shapen  both   of  belly  and 

backe, 

With  small  hands  and  fingers  long; 
Nothing  of  her  was  shapen  wrong." 


1  The  kinge  Ermine  of  that  land 
His  wife  was  dead  I  understand : 
He  had   a    doughter    fayre    and 

bryght, 

Josian  that  fayre  mayde  hight. 
Her  visage  was  whight  as  lylly 

floure, 

Therin  ranne  the  rede  coloure, 
With    bright   browes    and    eyes 

shene, 
With  heare  as  golde  wire  on  the 

grene, 

With  comly  nose  and  lyppes  swete, 
With  louely  mouth  and  fayre  fete, 
With  tethe  white  and  euen  sette, 
Here  handes  were  swete  as  vyolet ; 
With  gentell  body  withouten  lacke, 
Well  shapen  both  belly  and  backe, 
With  smale  handes  and  fingers 

longe ; 
Nothing     of    her     was     shapen 

wronge." 


86  Bibltograptjtcal  Account  of 

Stansby  keeps  about  the  same  distance,  in  point  of  style,  from 
Copland  that  Copland  kept  from  Pynson  ;  so  that,  notwithstand 
ing  the  changes,  and  the  frequent  substitution  of  known  for  ob 
solete  words,  the  romance  of  Sir  Bevis,  as  printed  by  Stansby, 
must  have  read  with  "  a  considerable  smack  of  antiquity,"  even 
in  1620,  if  we  suppose  it  to  have  been  printed  about  that  year. 
The  divisions  of  the  chapters,  and  the  titles  of  them,  are  nearly  the 
same  in  Copland's  and  Stansby's  editions.  How  both  vary  from 
Pynson,  and  from  the  MS.  in  Caius  College,  may  be  seen  by  com 
paring  what  is  above  given  with  the  extracts  in  vol.  ii.  p.  95  of 
Ellis's  "  Specimens  of  English  Metrical  Romances,"  edit.  1811. 


BIESTON,  ROGER.  —  The  bayte  &  snare  of  Fortune. 
Wherin  may  be  seen  that  money  is  not  the  only  cause 
of  mischefe  and  vnfortunate  endes,  but  a  necessary 
mean  to  mayntayne  a  vertuous  quiet  lyfe.  Treated  in  a 
dialoge  betwene  man  and  money.  —  Imprinted  at  Lon 
don  by  lohn  Wayland  at  the  signe  of  the  Sunne  ouer 
against  the  Conduite  in  Flete-strete.  Cum  priuilegio 
per  Septennium.  Fo.  B.  L.  n.  d.  10  leaves. 

Wayland  seems  to  have  ceased  business  in  the  year  that  Eliza 
beth  came  to  the  throne  ;  at  least  no  book  by  him,  with  a  date,  is 
later  than  1558,  and  he  did  not  begin  before  1537  :  in  that  interval 
"  The  bayte  and  snare  of  Fortune  "  made  its  appearance.  The 
name  of  the  writer  is  given  on  the  last  page  in  an  acrostic,  Roge- 
rus  Bieston,  and  he  was  possibly  the  ancestor  of  the  family  of  Bees- 
ton,  some  members  of  which  were  connected  with  our  poets,  plays, 
and  theatres  until  the  Restoration.  The  acrostic  has  no  other 
value  than  to  give  the  author's  name,  but  the  dialogue  between 
Man  and  Money  is  not  without  shrewdness  and  humor  ;  and  though 
the  rhyme  is  complex,  the  eight-line  stanza  Bieston  employs  runs 
easily.  Money  says  of  herself :  — 

"  No  lorde  there  is,  lady,  nor  chorle  of  kynde, 
What  for  my  power  and  wyse  circumspeccion, 


jj  (Snglislj  Citcrature.  87 

That  they  ne  beare  to  me  a  lovinge  mynde, 

And  gladly  wold  lyve  under  my  proteccion. 

What  man  of  hym  selfe,  by  myght  or  wise  inspeccion, 

Without  my  mean  can  wurke  a  worthy  deede? 

None  doubtles,  for  I  set  all  in  good  direccion : 

Who  lacketh  money  is  not  lyke  to  spede." 

To  which,  among  other  things,  Man  replies  :  — 

"  In  all  the  lawes  and  bookes  many  one, 
I  fynde  how  thou  art  roote  of  all  mischief: 
Through  thee  many  a  wyght  hath  misgone, 
For  unto  man  thou  art  so  deare  and  lyef, 
That  he  becummeth  a  robber,  and  a  thyef, 
For  thee,  forsaking  God  and  all  goodnes, 
And  hanged  is  at  last  for  thee,  with  great  repryef : 
This  wage  he  winneth  by  thy  worthynes." 

"  Repryef"  here,  of  course,  does  not  mean  what  we  now  call  re 
prieve,  but  reproof — the  shame  that  attends  merited  punishment 
by  the  gallows.  We  ought  to  have  mentioned  that  the  poem  is 
preceded  by  the  author's  "  Prologue,"  in  prose,  where  he  main 
tains  that  avarice  is  the  beginning  of  all  the  mischief  in  the  world : 
it  is  placed,  to  save  room,  at  the  back  of  the  title-page.  Barn- 
field's  "Encomion  of  Lady  Pecunia"  (ante,  p.  58)  and  Achelley's 
"Massacre  of  Money"  (ante,  p.  9),  respectively  printed  in  1598 
and  1602,  followed  up  the  same  subject,  but  in  a  somewhat  dif 
ferent  spirit  and  purpose. 


BLENERHASSET,  THOMAS. —  A  Direction  for  the  Planta 
tion  in  Ulster.  Contayning  in  it  sixe  principall  thinges  : 
viz.  1.  The  securing  of  that  wilde  Countrye  to  the 
Crowne  of  England.  2.  The  withdrawing  of  all  the 
charge  of  the  Garrison  of  men  of  warre.  3.  The  re 
warding  of  the  olde  Servitors  to  their  good  content. 
4.  The  meanes  how  to  increase  the  Revenue  to  the 
Crowne  with  a  yearely  very  great  somme.  5  How  to 
establish  the  Puritie  of  Religion  there.  6.  And  how 
the  undertakers  may  with  securitie  be  enriched.  — 


88  Bibltograpljtcal  Account  of 

Imprinted  at  London  by  Ed.  Allde  for  John  Budge, 
dwelling  at  the  great  South  doore  of  S.  Paules  Church. 
1610.  4to.  16  leaves. 

In  both  editions  of  Lowndes  the  title  only  consists  of  the  first 
line,  and  that  is  incorrectly  given  ;  and  in  both  it  is  said  that 
"  Blenerhasset  was  one  of  the  writers  in  the  '  Mirror  for  Magis 
trates.'  "  This  is  true,  but  it  was  not  the  same  Blenerhasset  who 
wrote  the  above  tract;  but  a  much  older  man,  who  in  1582  had 
published  what  he  called  "A  Revelation  of  the  true  Minerva."  * 
The  younger  Blenerhasset  tells  us  himself  that  he  was  "  a  playne 
Country-man  and  one  of  the  Undertakers  in  Fermannagh."  It 
is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  his  project  for  "  securing  the  wild 
Country e  "  of  Ireland  to  the  Crown,  further  than  to  say  that  he 
recommends  (like  Spenser,  some  fifteen  years  earlier)  the  employ 
ment  of  bodies  of  soldiers  to  protect  the  settlers,  "  which  soldiers 
at  stated  times  should  issue  out,  and  scour  the  country  round  for 
many  miles."  By  a  note  in  the  margin  it  appears  that  he  wishes 
this  proceeding  to  be  called  "Hassets  Hunt."  He  divides  his 
name,  at  the  end  of  the  dedication  to  Prince  Henry,  into  two 
portions,  Blener  Hasset  — Thomas  Blener  Hasset. 


BODENHAM,  JOHN.  —  Bel-vedere,  or  The  Garden  of  the 
Muses. 

Quern  referent  Musce  viuet  dum  robora  tellus, 
Dum  ccdum  Stellas,  dum  vehet  amnis  aquas. 

Imprinted  at  London  by  F.  K.  for  Hugh  Astley,  dwell 
ing  at  Saint  Magnus  corner.     1600.     8vo.     137  leaves. 

l  The  fact  is,  that,  as  early  as  1578,  Thomas  Blenerhasset,  or  Blener 
Hasset,  published  his  "second  part"  of  the  work,  and  we  give  the  full 
title  of  this  separate  contribution  to  the  same  design:  "  The  Seconde  part 
of  the  Mirrour  for  Magistrates,  conteining  the  falles  of  the  infortunate 
Princes  of  this  Lande.  From  the  Conquest  of  Csesar,  unto  the  commyng 
of  Duke  William  the  Conquerour.  —  Imprinted  by  Richard  Webster, 
Anno  Domini,  1578.  Goe  straight  and  feare  not."  This  motto  is  at  the 
bottom  of  an  architectural  compartment;  and  the  author's  Epistle  to  his 
unnamed  friend  is  dated  15th  May,  1577.  The  work  contains  twelve 
Legends. 


(fnglislj  Citerature.  89 

The  chief  collector  of  the  materials  for  this  work  was  John  Bo- 
denham,  of  whom  little  more  is  known  than  that  he  also  exercised 
his  taste  in  the  selection  of  the  productions  contained  in  "  Eng 
land's  Helicon,"  1600  and  1614,  (reprinted  in  1812.)  They  are, 
however,  essentially  different ;  for  "  England's  Helicon  "  consists 
of  entire  poems,  by  various  authors  whose  names  are  given,  while 
"Bel-vedere  "  is  made  up  of  single  lines  and  couplets  (more  being 
studiously  avoided)  taken  from  the  works  of  a  long  list  of  poets, 
whose  names  are  not  found  in  connection  with  any  of  the  extracts. 
Bodenham  confined  himself  to  productions  in  ten-syllable  verse, 
for  none  longer,  nor  shorter,  are  to  be  found  in  his  volume.  In 
what  he  calls  "the  Conclusion,"  which  precedes  the  index,  he 
gives  a  hint  that  he  was  assisted  in  the  undertaking :  —  "  The  Gen 
tleman  who  was  the  cause  of  this  collection  (taking  therein  no 
meane  paines  him-selfe,  besides  his  friends  labour)  could  not  be 
perswaded,  but  determinately  aimed  at  this  observation,"  viz.,  the 
rejection  of  anything  that  could  not  be  brought  into  a  line  or  a 
couplet. 

In  order  to  adhere  to  this  plan,  if  sometimes  four  consecutive 
lines  presented  themselves,  forming  two  complete  couplets,  Bo 
denham  did  not  scruple  absurdly  to  separate  them  by  lines*from 
a  different  author.  We  have  a  remarkable  instance  of  this  prac 
tice  (not  hitherto  pointed  out)  on  pp.  178,  179,  where  we  meet 
with  the  following  :  — 

"  There's  nought  so  vile  that  on  the  earth  doth  live, 

But  to  the  earth  some  speciall  good  doth  give. 
Good  is  the  end  that  cannot  be  amended. 
Where  good  is  found,  we  should  not  quit  with  ill. 

There^s  nought  so  good,  but  strained  from  thatfaire  use 

Revolts  to  vice,  and  stumbles  on  abuse." 

The  four  lines  in  Italic  everybody  will  recollect  in  "  Romeo  and 
Juliet,"  Act  H.  sc.  3,  and  they  are  consecutive,  both  in  reason  and 
in  fact,  but  it  did  not  suit  Bodenham's  friend's  views  so  to  print 
them.  Now  and  then  he  took  similar  pains  to  avoid  even  a 
couplet,  so  that  lines,  intended  by  the  author  to  run  together,  are 
separated.  On  p.  29,  for  instance,  we  read,  — 


90  Bibltograpljkal  Account  of 

"  Where  both  deliberate,  the  love  is  light. 
True  love  is  mute,  and  oft  amazed  stands. 
Who  ever  lov'd, 'that  lov'd  not  at  first  sight?  " 

Here  the  first  and  third  lines  form  a  consecutive  couplet,  which 
•will  be  easily  recognized,  not  only  because  they  are  by  Mario w 
("  Hero  and  Leander,"  Sest.  l),but  because  the  last  line  is  quoted 
by  Shakspeare  in  "  As  you  like  it,"  Act  III.  sc.  5. 

" Dead  shepherd !  now  I  find  thy  saw  of  might; 
Who  ever  lov'd,  that  lov'd  not  at  first  sight." 

The  poets  to  whom  Bodenham,  in  his  preface,  admits  his  obliga 
tions  are  these  :  —  Thomas  [Henry]  Earl  of  Surrey,  Marquess  of 
Winchester,  Countess  of  Pembroke,  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  Earl  of 
Oxford,  Ferdinando  Earl  of  Derby,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  Sir 
Edward  Dyer,  Fulke  Greville,  Sir  John  Harrington,  Edmund 
Spenser,  Henry  Constable,  Samuel  Daniel,  Thomas  Lodge,  Thomas 
Watson,  Michael  Drayton,  Sir  John  Davies,  Thomas  Hudson, 
Henry  Locke,  John  Marston,  Christopher  Marlow,  Benjamin  Jon- 
son,  William  Shakspeare,  Thomas  Churchyard,  Thomas  Nash, 
Thomas  Kidde,  George  Peele,  Robert  Greene,  Joshua  Sylvester, 
Nicholas  Breton,  Gervase  Mark-ham,  Thomas  Storer,  Robert  Wil- 
mot,  Christopher  Middleton,  Richard  Barnfield,  Thomas  Norton, 
George  Gascoigne,  Francis  Kindlemarsh,  Thomas  Atchlow,  George 
Whetstone.  He  adds  that  the  last  five  are  "  deceased,"  but  others 
whom  he  calls  "  modern  and  extant  Poets,"  such  as  Spenser,  Con 
stable,  Watson,  Marlow,  Peele,  and  Greene,  were  also  dead  before 
1600,  when  "  Bel-vedere  "  was  published.1 

The  work  came  to  a  second  edition  in  1610,  but  the  first  part 
of  the  title,  "  Bel-vedere,"  was  then,  for  some  unexplained  reason, 
dropped. 


BODENHAM,  JOHN.  —  Englands  Helicon.  — 

Casta  placent  superis,  pura  cum  veste  venite, 
Et  manibus  puris  sumite  fontis  aquam. 

1  This  is  a  mistake  as  regards  Constable,  who  did  not  die  until  after 
1604,  when  he  wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  from  the  Tower.  See 
Mr.  W.  C.  Hazlitt's  edit,  of  Constable's  "  Diana,"  1859,  p.  xiv. 


<£arlt3  (Englislj  Citcratuu.  91 

At  London,  Printed  by  I.  R.  for  John  Flasket,  and  are 
to  be  sold  in  Paules  Church-yard,  at  the  signe  of  the 
Beare.  1600.  4to.  95  leaves. 

This  first  edition  of  an  admirable  and  popular  poetical  miscel 
lany  is  extremely  rare,  especially  in  the  state  of  the  copy  before 
us ;  in  which  several  names  upon  printed  slips  have  been  pasted 
over  others  for  which  they  were  substituted  after  the  book  came 
from  the  press,  showing  that  mistakes  had  been  discovered  in  the 
first  instance,  which  were  detected,  and  rather  clumsily  corrected, 
in  some  of  the  later  copies. 

We  know  that  the  collection  was  edited  by  John  Bodenham 
from  a  preliminary  sonnet  addressed  to  him  by  a  person  who  sub 
scribes  it  A.  B.,  which  in  terms  imputes  to  him  also  "  Wits  Com 
monwealth,"  1598,  "Wits  Theatre,"  1598,  "  The  Garden  of  the 
Muses,"  1600,  and,  finally,  "  Englands  Helicon,"  1600. 

Although  the  second  edition  of  "  Englands  Helicon,"  in  1614, 
was  reprinted  by  SirE.  Brydges  and  Haslewood  in  1812,  the  first 
impression  has  never  been  sufficiently  noted.  As  our  copy  differs 
in  some  respects  from  others,  (as  far  as  we  have  had  an  opportu 
nity  of  examining  them,)  a  few  words  may  be  acceptable  on  some 
of  the  separate  poems ;  with  the  aid,  moreover,  of  MS.  Harl.  280, 
(in  the  handwriting  of  Francis  Davison,  editor  of  "  The  Poetical 
Rhapsody,"  1602,)  containing  a  list  of  the  productions  with  the 
names  of  the  authors,  which  does  not  seem  to  have  been  made  out 
either  from  the  first  or  second  edition  of  u  England's  Helicon," 
but  probably  from  some  independent  authority.  Nevertheless,  it 
accords  in  many  cases. 

In  the  first  place,  and  without  resort  to  this  source  of  informa 
tion,  we  may  doubt  whether  E.:B.  (subscribed  to  poems  on  sign.  B 
2  and  B  4)  mean  Edmund  Bolton,  because  on  sign.  C  4  we  have 
"  a  Canzon  Pastorall  in  honour  of  her  Majestic,"  which  has  his 
name  at  length.  Why  should  initials  have  been  used  in  the  former 
instances,  if  they  were  intended  to  denote  a  poet  who  did  not  ob 
ject  to  see  his  name  at  length  ? 

Again,  with  reference  to  two  poems  on  sign.  E  3  b,  subscribed 
I.  M.,  it  seems  to  have  been  forgotten  that  those  initials  are 
much  more  likely  to  belong  to  John  Marston,  than  to  Gervase  or 


92  Bihltcgrcxpljical  SUcotmt  of 

Jervis  Markham.  Markham  could  hardly  be  equal  to  the  later 
of  the  two;  and  Marston,  much  his  superior  as  a  poet,  in  1600 
was  in  the  zenith  of  his  reputation  and  popularity. 

It  has  escaped  notice  also,  that  both  the  pieces  attributed  to 
"  T.  Howard  Earle  of  Surrie"  in  the  editions  of  1600  and  1614, 
•were  in  fact  by  H.  Howard  Earl  of  Surrey.  Bodenham  committed 
the  same  oversight  in  his  "  Bel-vedere,"  1600,  and  it  was  not  cor 
rected  in  1812. 

On  sign.  G  3  occurs  a  production  thus  headed,  "  To  Phillis  the 
faire  Sheepheardesse,"  with  the  initials  S.  E.  D.  at  the  end  of  it ; 
and  Ellis  (Specimens  II.  186,  edit.  1811)  gives  it  unhesitatingly  to 
Sir  Edward  Dyer.  Sir  E.  Brydges  and  Haslewood,  in  their  re 
print  of  the  second  edition  of  "  England's  Helicon,"  1614,  repeat 
the  blunder.  The  poem  is  by  Thomas  Lodge,  and  is  contained  in 
his  "  Phillis,"  1593,  (see  post.)  Moreover,  they  make  nonsense  of 
the  two  last  lines  by  printing  will  for  "  nill,"  (i.  e.  ne  will,  or  will 
not,)  as  it  stands  in  the  original  impressions  both  of  "  Phillis  "  and 
of  "  England's  Helicon." 

On  sign.  H  2  we  meet  with  the  celebrated  ode,  "  As  it  fell 
upon  a  day,"  which  we  now  know  was  by  Shakspeare,  and  not 
by  Barnfield,  in  whose  name  it  had  been  published  in  1598,  but 
assigned  to  its  true  owner  in  "  The  Passionate  Pilgrim"  of  1599. 
In  "England's  Helicon,"  1600,  the  word  Ignoto  is  at  the  close  of 
it,  as  if  Bodenham  had  not  been  able  to  decide  as  to  the  real 
authorship.  On  the  other  hand,  when  he  inserted  "  the  Sheep- 
heard's  Ode  "  on  sign.  K  4,  he  gave  it  at  once  to  Barnfield,  because 
it  was  indisputably  his.  Sir  E.  Brydges  and  Haslewood  did  not 
know  from  whence  it  had  been  procured,  but  it  was  from  Barn- 
field's  "  Cynthia,"  1595. 

The  list  of  authors  in  MS.  Harl.  280,  assigns  "  The  Sheepheards 
description  of  his  Love  "  (sign.  L  2  b)  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and 
the  initials  S.  W.  R.  were  originally  placed  after  it ;  but  a  slip 
pasted  over  it,  on  which  is  printed  Ignoto,  shows  that  Bodenham 
had  early  seen  reason  to  alter  the  ascription  of  it.1  Precisely  the 

i  This  was  written  about  1840 ;  after  which  date  the  writer  lent  his 
copy  of  "England's  Helicon,"  1600;  and  the  old  paste  having  given  way, 
the  minute  slip  came  off,  and  the  book  was  returned  without  it,  but  the 
place  where  it,  and  others,  were  stuck  on  is  clearly  discernible. 


ffimjlislj  f  ikratitr^.  93 

same  observation  applies  to  "  The  Sheepheard's  praise  of  his  sacred 
Diana,"  on  sign.  N  3  b. 

Fulke  Greville,  Lord  Brooke's  claims  are  confirmed  by  Davison's 
list ;  and  a  piece  on  sign.  X  b,  which  has  no  name  nor  initials, 
clearly  belongs  to  the  same  noble  poet  on  the  authority  of  Dow- 
land's  "  First  Booke  of  Songs,"  1597.  Davison  (MS.  Harl.  280) 
gives  "  Another  to  his  Cinthia,"  on  sign.  X  b,  to  the  Earl  of  Cum 
berland  :  Bodenham  inserted  it  anonymously. 

The  additions  made  to  the  number  of  poems  in  the  impression 
of  "England's  Helicon,"  in  1614,  occur  principally  towards  the 
close,  some  of  them  being  by  William  Browne,  and  others  by 
Christopher  Brooke,  who  were  not  known  as  early  as  1600.  A 
few  were  transferred  from  Davison's  "  Poetical  Rhapsody." 


BOOK,  A  NEW.  —  A  newe  boke  Conteyninge.  An  exorta- 
cio  to  the  sicke.  The  sycke  mans  prayer.  A  prayer 
with  thankes  *at  the  purificacio  of  women.  A  Consola- 
tio  at  buriall.  [Colossi,  iii.  What  soeuer  ye  do  in  worde 
or  dede,  &c.]  MDLXI.  8vo.  B.  L.  27  leaves. 

This  little  work  was  printed  by  William  Copland,  but  it  is  no 
where  enumerated  among  productions  of  his  careless  press.  The 
colophon  runs  thus:  "Imprinted  at  London  in  saynt  Martines 
in  the  Vintry  upon  the  thre  craned  wharfe  by  Wyllyam  Copland." 

It  must  have  been  published  at  a  time  when  the  metropolis  was 
visited  by  what  was  called  the  Plague,  and  the  tract  is  wound  up 
with  the  following  clever  mock-prescription  for  its  cure  :  — 

"  Take  a  pond  of  good  hard  penaunce,  and  washe  it  wel  with  the  water 
of  youre  eyes,  and  let  it  ly  a  good  whyle  at  your  hert.  Take  also  of  the 
best  fyne  fayth,  hope  and  charyte  y*  you  can  get,  a  like  quantite  of  al 
mixed  together,  your  soule  even  full,  and  use  this  confection  every  day 
in  your  lyfe,  whiles  the  plages  of  god  reigneth.  Then,  take  both  your 
handes  ful  of  good  workes  commaunded  of  God,  and  kepe  them  close  in 
a  clene  conscience  from  the  duste  of  vayne  glory,  and  ever  as  you  are 
able  and  se  necessite  so  to  use  them.  This  medicine  was  found  wryten 
in  an  olde  byble  boke,  and  it  hath  been  practised  and  proved  true  of 
mani,  both  men  and  women." 


94  SibUograpljical  Account  of 

BRATHWAITE,  RICHARD.  —  A  Strappado  for  the  Diuell. 
Epigrams  and  Satyres  alluding  to  the  time,  with  diuers 
measures  of  no  lesse  Delight.  By  MWOCTUKOS  to  his  friend 
^lAoKpares.  Nemo  me  impune  lacessit.  —  At  London 
printed  by  J.  B.  for  Richard  Redmer  &c.  at  the  Starre. 
1615.  8vo.  182  leaves. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  work  in  English  which  illustrates  more 
fully  and  amusingly  the  manners,  occupations,  and  opinions  of  the 
time  when  it  was  written,  than  the  present  volume  by  Richard 
Brathwaite  ;  but  it  is  a  strange,  undigested,  and  ill  arranged  collec 
tion  of  poems,  of  various  kinds,  and  of  different  degrees  of  merit, 
some  of  them  composed  considerably  before  the  rest,  but  few  with 
out  claims  to  notice.  The  principal  part  consists  of  satires  and 
epigrams,  although  the  author  purposely  confounds  the  distinction 
between  the  two,  telling  "  the  captious  Reader," 

"My  answer's  this  to  him  that  saies  I  wrong 
Our  art  to  make  my  Epigrams  so  long:  — 
I  dare  not  bite  —  therefore  to  change  my  nature, 
I  call't  an  Epigram  which  is  a  Satire." 

Yet  that  he  dared  bite  may  be  seen  from  the  following,  among 
other  preliminary  lines  "  to  his  Booke." 

"  Which  to  prevent  let  this  be  understood  — 
Great  men,  though  ill,  they  must  be  stiled  good: 
Their  blacke  is  white,  their  vice  is  vertue  made ; 
But  'mongst  the  base  call  still  a  spade  a  spade." 

He  never  scruples  to  use  the  plainest  terms,  and  though  he 
seldom  inserts  real  names,  he  spares  neither  rank  nor  condition. 

The  title-page  is  followed  by  "  the  Author's  Anagram,"  viz., 
Vertu  hatli  ltar[e~\  credit;  and,  after  a  double  dedication  to  Sir 
Thomas  Gainsford  and  Mr.  Thomas  Posthumus  Diggs,  we  come  to 
"  another  Anagram,"  and  a  prose  address  "  to  the  gentle  Reader," 
in  which  the  author  apologizes  for  typographical  errors,  by  stating 
that  he  was  absent  when  his  book  was  printed.  Then  succeed  lines 
*'  to  his  Booke,"  a  third  dedication  "  to  all  Usurers,  Breakers  and 
Promoters  &c.  Ladies,  Monkies,  Parachitoes,  Marmosites,"  &c. 
and  a  note  "  upon  the  Errata,"  again  mentioning  the  absence  of 


(frngltslj  Cittrature.  95 

the  author,  as  well  as  "  the  intricacy  of  the  copy."  To  these  are 
added  "  Errata,"  some  "  Embleames,"  as  they  are  termed,  and 
separate  addresses  to  the  "  equal "  arid  "  captious"  Readers.  The 
preliminary  matter  thus  terminated,  we  arrive  at  the  substance 
of  the  volume,  commencing  with  a  poem  to  "  Mounsieur  Bacchus, 
sole  Soveraigne  of  the  Ivy-bush,"  &c. 

Brathwaite  was  au  admirer  of  George  Wither,  (who  had  pub 
lished  his  Satires  two  years  before,)  and  of  William  Browne  ;  and 
in  a  poem  entitled  "  Upon  the  general  Sciolists  or  Poetasters  of 
Britannie,"  after  abusing  the  low  versifiers  of  the  day,  he  thus 
distinguishes  them : 

"  Yet  ranke  I  not  (as  some  men  doe  suppose) 
These  worthlesse  swaines  amongst  the  laies  of  those 
Time-honour' d  Shepheards  (for  they  still  shall  be, 
As  they  well  merit,  honoured  of  mee) 
Who  beare  a  part,  like  honest  faithfull  swaines 
On  witty  Wither  never-withring  plaines: 
For  these  (though  seeming  Shepheards)  have  deserv'd 
To  have  their  names  in  lasting  marble  carv'd. 
Yea,  this  I  know,  I  may  be  bold  to  say 
Thames  n'ere  had  swans  that  song  more  sweet  than  they. 
It 's  true,  I  may  avow  't,  that  nere  was  song 
Chanted  in  any  age  by  swains  so  young 
With  more  delight  then  was  perforni'd  by  them, 
Pretily  shadow'd  in  a  borrow'd  name. 
And  long  may  England's  Thespian  springs  be  known 
By  lovely  Wither  and  by  bonny  Browne; 
Whilest  solid  Seldon,  and  their  Cuddy  too, 
Sing  what  our  Swaines  of  old  could  never  doe." 

The  latter  part  of  this  quotation  refers  to  "  The  Shepherd's 
Pipe,"  printed  in  1614,  which,  on  the  authority  of  Wither,  is  known 
to  have  been  written  by  himself  and  Browne.  "  Solid  Seldon  " 
is,  of  course,  "  the  learned  Selden,"  who  wrote  some  lines  pre 
fixed  to  Browne's  "  Brittannia's  Pastorals,"  but  who  was  meant  by 
"  their  Cuddy  "  is  not,  we  believe,  ascertained. 

One  of  the  most  amusing  pieces  in  the  collection,  partly  from 
its  humor,  but  more  from  its  allusions,  is  entitled  "  Upon  a  Poets 
Palfrey,  lying  in  lavander  for  the  discharge  of  his  Provender  "  : 
it  reminds  us  in  some  degree  of  the  Italian  artist  Bronzino's  stan 
zas  upon  a  horse  given  to  him  by  one  of  his  patrons,  but  never 


96  Bibliographical  TUcotmt  of 

delivered  :  the  latter,  however,  is  in  a  higher  strain  of  fancy. 

Brathwaite  begins  by  a  quotation  from  Shakspeare's  "  Richard  the 

Third": 

"  If  I  had  liv'd  but  in  King  Richard's  dayes, 
Who  in  his  heat  of  passion,  midst  the  force 
Of  his  Assailants  troubled  many  waies, 
Crying  'A  horse,  a  kingdome  for  a  horse,' 
0  !  then  my  horse,  which  now  at  livery  stave?, 
Had  beene  set  free,  where  now  he  's  forc't  to  stand, 
And  like  to  fall  into  the  Ostler's  hand." 

King  Richard's  exclamation  had  been  parodied  by  John  Mars- 
ton,  in  his  "  Scourge  of  Villanie,"  two  years  after  Shakspeare's 
play  was  published.1  Farther  on,  we  have  the  following  allusion 
to  Marlow's  "  Tamburlaine,"  and  to  the  very  passage  Shakspeare 
had  previously  ridiculed  : 

"  If  I  had  liv'd  when  fame-spred  Tamberlaine 
Displaid  his  purple  signals  in  the  East, 
'  Hallow,  ye  pamphred  Jades ! '  had  been  in  vaine ; 
For  mines  not  pamphred,  nor  was  ere  at  feast 
But  once,  which  once  's  nere  like  to  be  againe ; 
How,  methinks,  would  hee  haue  scour' d  the  wheeles, 
Having  brave  Tamberlaine  whipping  at 's  heeles." 

The  same  poem  contains  references  to  Shelton's  translation  of 
"  Don  Quixote,"  the  first  part  of  which  was  printed  in  1612 ;  to 
Banks's  famous  horse  that  ascended  to  the  top  of  St.  Paul's  ;  to 
Vermar's  "  Englands  Joy,"  played  at  the  Hope  Theatre  in  1603 ; 2 

1  He  quotes  it  in  one  of  his  comedies;  and  in  his  " Parasitaster,"  1606, 
he  introduces  another  line  from  "Richard  III." 

"  Plots  ha'  you  laid,  inductions  dangerous  1  " 

In  the  same  comedy  he  again  thus  parodies  Richard's  exclamation,  "  A 
foole,  a  foole !  my  coxcombe  for  a  foole !  "  Here,  too,  we  meet  with  a 
couplet  that  more  than  reminds  us  of  the  two  lines  in  "  The  M.  W.  of  W." 
Act  II.  sc.  2,— 

"  Love  like  a  shadow  flies,  when  substance  lore  pursues, 
Pursuing  that  that  flies,  and  flying  what  pursues." 

Marston's  lines  are,  — 

"  So  may  we  learn  that  nicer  love's  a  shade  ; 
It  follows  fled,  pursued  flies  as  afraid." 

2  See  article  VENNAK,  Vol.  IV.  • 


I)  f  iterator*.  97 

to  Bartholomew  Fair,  as  then  celebrated,  and  to  other  matters  of 
curiosity.  In  another  long  and  not  very  lively  poem,  to  the  cotton 
manufacturers  of  the  North  of  England,  Brathvvaite  mentions 
"  Wilson's  Delight,"  "  Arthur-a-Bradly,"  (see  p.  33,)  and  "Mall, 
Dixon's  Round,"  as  celebrated  tunes.  The  first  was,  perhaps,  de 
rived  from  Wilson  the  comic  actor,  who  was  famous  before  the 
time  of  Shakspeare,  and  who  has  left  at  least  one  play  behind 
him.  "  Arthur-a-Bradly  "  is  well  known,  but  "  Mall  Dixon's 
Round"  has  perished,  at  all  events  by  that  name. 

The  last  part  of  the  volume  has  a  new  title-page,  "Love's 
Labyrinth,  or  the  true-Lover's  knot :  including  the  disastrous  fals 
of  two  star-crost  Lovers,  Pyramus  and  Thisbe ; "  a  subject,  as 
the  author  adds,  "  heeretofore  handled."  He  alludes,  perhaps,  to 
"Dunstan  Gale's  "  Pyramus  and  Thisbe,"  which  originally  appeared 
in  1596,  and  of  which  what  purports  to  be  a  new  edition  came 
out  in  1617  :  it  may  be  doubted,  however,  whether  more  was  done 
to  it  than  giving  it  a  fresh  title-page.  The  story  of  Pyramus  and 
Thisbe  had  also  been  told  in  Dr.  Muffet's  "  Silkworms  and  their 
Flies,"  4to,  1599,  which  see  hereafter.  An  «  Epistle  of  Hyppolitus 
to  Phaedra,"  in  octave  stanzas,  in  imitation  of  Drayton,  and  five 
pages  of  illustrative  notes,  conclude  Brathwayte's  volume. 


BRATHWAITE,  RICHARD.  —  The  Arcadian  Princesse  or  the 
Triumph  of  Justice.  Prescribing  excellent  rules  of  Phys- 
icke  for  a  sicke  Justice.  Digested  into  fowre  Bookes 
and  faithfully  rendered  to  the  originall  Italian  Copy. 
By  Ri.  Brathwait  Esq.  &c.  —  London  Printed  by  Th. 
Harper  for  Robert  Bostocke  &c.  1635.  8vo.  269 
leaves. 

Besides  the  printed  title,  there  is  an  engraved  one  by  Marshall, 
representing  Justice  weighing  the  rich  and  poor,  with  the  follow 
ing  lines  opposite  to  it :  — 

"  Hee  that  in  words  explaines  a  Frontispice 
Betrayes  the  secret  trust  of  his  device: 
Who  cannot  gesse,  where  Motts  and  Emblemes  be, 
The  drift,  may  still  be  ignorant  for  me." 

VOL.  I.  7 


98  Bibliographical  2Unmnt  of 

At  the  back  of  the  printed  title  is  the  license,  dated  "  Junij  7. 
1634."  The  dedication  is.  to  the  Earl  of  Worcester,  followed  by 
an  address  "  to  the  deserving  Reader,"  and  certain  testimonies  in 
favor  of  Mariano  Silesio,  the  author  of  the  original  work.  To 
these  are  added,  "  a  Summary  of  the  Contents."  At  the  end  of 
the  work  is  inserted  a  short  life  of  Mariano  Silesio,  but  it  is  not 
stated  from  what  authority  it  is  derived,  and  it  may  be  doubted. 
Many  pieces  of  poetry  are  interspersed,  and  some  of  them  are- 
harmoniously  rendered. 


BRATHWAITE,  RICHARD.  —  The  two  Lancashire  Lovers: 
or  the  Excellent  History  of  Philocles  and  Doriclea. 
Expressing  the  faithfull  constancy  and  mutuall  fidelity 
of  two  loyall  Lovers  &c.  By  Musaeus  Palatinus.  Pereo, 
si  taceo.  —  London,  Printed  by  Edward  Griffin  for  R.  B. 
or  his  Assignes.  1640.  8vo.  132  leaves. 

The  printed  title  is  preceded  by  an  engraved  one,  by  which  it 
appears  that  the  initials  R.  B.,  in  the  imprint,  are  those  of  R. 
Best,  the  publisher,  and  not  of  Richard  Brathwaite,  the  supposed 
author  ;  —  "  printed  by  E.  G.  for  R.  Best,  and  are  to  be  sould  at 
his  shop  neare  Graies  Inn  gate  in  Houlburne."  How  much  of 
the  story  of  this  novel  is  founded  upon  facts,  it  is  impossible  now 
to  ascertain,  but  many  of  the  incidents  read  as  if  they  had  actu 
ally  occurred.  Facing  p.  246  is  an  engraving  of  two  hearts  burn 
ing  upon  an  altar,  Cupid  blowing  the  fire,  while  two  lovers  kneel 
below,  the  man  saying,  "  What  wouldst  thou  desire  ?  Cupid  re 
tire  ;  "  and  the  lady,  "  Our  flaming  hearts  are  both  a-fire."  This 
plate  is  also  employed  in  another  production,  assigned  to  Brath 
waite,  called  "Art  asleepe  Husband,"  printed  in  1640. 


BRETON,  NICHOLAS.  —  The  Passionate  Shepheard,  or  The 
Shepheardes  Love :  set  downe  in  Passions  to  his  Shep- 
heardesse  Aglaia.  With  many  excellent  conceited 


<£nglt0I)  Ctorature.  99 

Poems  and  pleasant  Sonnets,  fit  for  young  heads  to 
passe  away  idle  houres.  —  London  Imprinted  by  E. 
Allde,  for  John  Tappe,  and  are  to  bee  solde  at  his 
Shop,  at  the  Tower-Hill  neere  the  Bulwarke  Gate. 
1604.  4to.  19  leaves. 

This  production  is  an  entire  novelty  in  our  poetical  annals :  it 
is  not  to  be  traced  in  any  catalogue  or  work  on  bibliography. 

It  is  all  in  verse  excepting  the  dedication,  which  is  thus  headed  : 
"  Bonerto,  the  faithfull  Shepheard,  to  Aglaia  his  faire  Shepheard- 
esse,  wisheth  more  wealth  then  the  Sheepes-wooll,  and  a  better 
Garland  then  the  Bay-leafe."  This  is  signed 

"  Your  poore  Shephard 

BONERTO." 

Against  which  name  is  written,  in  a  hand  of  about  the  time,  "  Ni- 
colao  Bretono,"  the  letters  forming  Bonerto,  with  a  slight  change, 
making  Bretono,  i.  e.  Nicholas  Breton.  In  1604  the  name  of 
Nicholas  Breton  was  so  well  known  on  title-pages,  either  at  length, 
or  as  N.  B.  and  B.  N.,  that  in  this  instance,  perhaps  for  novelty's 
sake,  he  preferred  to  vary  it,  and  came  before  the  world  as  Bo 
nerto.  The  dedication  is  remarkable  for  nothing,  but  that  it  con 
tains  an  allusion  to  a  popular  production  by  Samuel  Rowlands, 
called  "  The  letting  of  Humours  Blood  in  the  head  Vein,"  which 
had  been  first  published  in  1600.  Some  of  the  pieces  in  the  body 
of  "  The  Passionate  Shepherd  "  bear  a  considerable  resemblance 
to  Breton's  earlier  performances :  his  "  Farewell  to  Town  "  (Ellis's 
Spec.  II.  270,  edit.  1811)  is  not  very  dissimilar  to  his  "  Farewell 
to  the  World,"  in  the  work  before  us. 

Shakspeare's  "Passionate  Pilgrim"  had  come  out  in  1599,  and 
"  The  Passionate  Shepherd,"  as  an  imitation  in  title,  seems  also  to 
have  been  intended,  in  various  respects,  as  an  imitation  in  style. 
The  pieces  it  contains  are  many  of  them  in  short  lines,  such  as,  — 
u  On  a  day  (alack  the  day  !) 
Love  whose  month  was  ever  May ;  " 

and,  which  is  also  in  "  The  Passionate  Pilgrim," 
"  As  it  fell  upon  a  day 
In  the  merry  month  of  May;  " 


100  Bibliographical  Account  of 

•while  in  "England's  Helicon,"  1600,  sign.  D  3,  Breton  himself 
has  a  poem  in  precisely  the  same  metre :  — 

"  In  the  merry  month  of  May, 
In  a  morne  by  breake  of  day,"  &c. 

A  variety  of  lyrical  measures  are  employed,  but  none  of  them 
such  as  are  not  to  be  found  in  other  productions  by  Breton.  As 
"  The  Passionate  Shepherd  "  is  undoubtedly  a  literary  curiosity, 
as  well  as  a  collection  of  meritorious  poems  by  one  of  the  most 
popular  authors  of  that  day,  we  will  describe  it  with  more  particu 
larity  than  usual.  The  title-page  forms  sign.  A  1,  and  the  back 
of  it  is  blank :  the  dedication  is  on  the  next  page,  with  the  back 
also  blank,  and  the  "  Pastorall  Verses,  written  by  the  Shepheard 
Bonerto,  to  his  beloved  Shepheardesse  Aglaia,"  commence  on  sign. 
A  3,  the  first  piece  being  assigned  to  Pastor  Primus :  — 

"  Tell  me,  all  yee  Shepheards  swaines 
On  Minervas  Mountaine  plaines, 
Yee  that  only  sit  and  keepe 
Flockes  (but  of  the  fairest  sheepe) 
Did  you  see  this  blessed  day 
Faire  Aglaia  walke  this  way  ? 
If  yee  did,  oh,  tell  me  then, 
If  yee  be  true  meaning  men, 
How  she  fareth  with  her  health, 
All  the  world  of  all  your  wealth,"  &c. 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  lines  being  generally  short,  and 
the  page  4to,  each  outer  margin  is  occupied  throughout  by  an 
arabesque  border.  "  Past.  2  "  and  "  Past.  3  "  (meaning  probably 
Pastor  2  and  3)  are  in  the  same  kind  of  verse,  and  the  latter 
opens  with  a  very  sprightly  description  of  a  shepherd's  life  :  — 

"  Who  can  live  in  heart  so  glad 
As  the  merrie  countrie  lad, 
Who  upon  a  faire  greene  balke 
May  at  pleasures  sit  and  walke, 
And  amidde  the  Azure  skies 
See  the  morning  Sunne  arise  ? 
While  he  heares  in  every  spring 
How  the  Birdes  doe  chirpe  and  sing; 
Or  before  the  houndes  in  crie, 
See  the  Hare  goe. stealing  by; 


Ctteratare.  101 

Or  along  the  shallow  brooke, 
Angling  with  a  baited  hooke, 
See  the  fishes  leape  and  play 
In  a  blessed  sunny  day,"  &c. 

And  so  he  proceeds,  enumerating  a  variety  of  rural  sights  and 
sounds,  and  ending  thus  passionately  regarding  his  shepherdess : 
"  For  whose  sake  I  say  and  sweare, 
By  the  passions  that  I  beare, 
Had  I  got  a  kinglie  grace, 
I  would  leaue  my  kinglie  place, 
And  in  heart  be  truelie  glad 
To  become  a  country  lad, 
Hard  to  lie  and  goe  full  bare, 
And  to  feede  on  hungry  fare, 
So  I  might  but  live  to  bee 
Where  I  might  but  sit  and  see, 
Once  a  day,  or  all  day  long, 
The  sweet  subject  of  my  song  ; 
In  Aglaias  onely  eyes 
All  my  worldly  paradise." 

We  hardly  know  how  such  thought  and  language,  in  this  grace 
ful  and  fanciful  department  of  poetry,  are  to  be  improved.  It  seems 
clear  that  some  real  person,  who  had  an  accidental  mark,  was  in 
tended  by  Aglaia,  or  why  this  couplet  in  what  is  headed  "  Past.  4  "  ? 

"And  that  skarre  upon  thy  throate: 
No  such  starre  on  Stellas  coate." 

In  the  same  division  the  author  shows  his  acquaintance,  not  only 
with  classical  poets,  but  with  Petrarch,  Tasso,  Ariosto,  Dante,  and 
Guarini,  and  enumerates  them  in  that  somewhat  defective  order. 
*'  Past.  5  "  is  short,  and  ends  on  the  reverse  of  sign.  C,  when  we 
arrive  at  a  new  heading,  "  Sundry  sweet  Sonnets  and  Passionated 
Poems;"  but  among  them  there  is  not  a  single  "  sonnet"  strictly 
«o  called,  but  a  number  of  miscellaneous  love-poems,  beginning 
with  "A  farewell  to  the  world  and  the  pleasures  thereof."  Here  the 
measure  changes  to  ten-syllable  lines  in  quatrains,  and  it  opens :  — 

"  Now,  for  the  last  farewell  I  meane  to  make 
To  all  the  troubles  of  my  tired  thought: 
This  leave  at  last,  and  this  last  leave  I  take 
Of  some,  and  all,  that  have  my  sorrowe  sought." 


102  Bibliographical  2lccount  of 

This  piece  is  more  in  Breton's  didactic  style  than  any  of  the 
preceding  pastorals,  and  in  succession  he  bids  farewell  to  youth, 
beauty,  friendship,  love,  power,  hope,  fortune,  art,  and  time.  Still, 
he  reverts  to  Aglaia,  and  to  a  rustic  life,  declaring  — 

"  Thus  will  I  sit,  and  set  my  pipe  in  tune, 
And  plaie  as  merry  as  the  day  fs  long; 
And  as  in  Aprill,  so  againe  in  June, 
Fit  both  my  spring  and  harvest  with  a  song." 

This  production  occupies  about  five  pages,  but  we  extract  an 
other  stanza  from  it,  because  it  accords  so  well  with  some  lines  in 
a  poem  attributed  to  Breton  in  "  England's  Helicon":  — 

"  The  filed  tongue  of  fayning  eloquence 
Shall  now  no  more  abuse  my  simple  trust: 
In  yea  and  nay  I  find  that  excellence, 
Where  perfect  judgment  cannot  prove  unjust." 

The  corresponding  passage  in  "  England's  Helicon  "  is  — 

"  Then  with  many  a  pretty  oath,   * 
Yea  and  nay,  and  faith  and  troth, 
Such  as  silly  shepherds  use 
When  they  will  net  love  abuse." 

Breton's  "  passionated  poem,"  which  may  be  termed  his  "  Fare 
well,"  contains  35  stanzas  of  four  lines  each,  with  the  exception 
of  one  stanza  which  has  six  lines.  "  Sonnet  2,"  as  he  calls  it,  is 
"  The  description  and  praise  of  his  fairest  Love,"  and  is  in  some 
places  rather  warm  and  minute  :  it  occupies  32  stanzas,  ending  on 
sign.  D  3  b.  "  Sonnet  3  "  is  very  lively  and  brief,  consisting  of 
twenty-four  short  lines  in  couplets,  divided  as  if  they  were  stanzas* 
'*  Sonnet  4  "  is  in  the  same  measure,  and  commences  thus :  — 

41  Tell  me,  tell  me,  pretty  Muse, 
Canst  thou  neither  will  nor  chuse, 
But  be  busie  with  my  braine, 
Still  to  put  my  wits  to  paine  ? 
Shall  my  heart  within  my  breast 
Never  have  an  hower  of  rest?  " 

Still  he  is  ready  to  endure,  if  Aglaia  approve  his  lines,  as  the 
result  of  his  pain  and  toil.  Passing  over  "  Sonnet  5,"  which  does 
not  claim  particular  notice,  we  quote  "  Sonnet  6  "  exactly  as  it 
stands :  — 


<£nglt0l)  £ttcrata«.  103 

"  Fooles  cannot  know  what  fancie  is, 
Where  wisdome  findes  true  wit; 
And  who  can  ever  ayme  at  blisse 
That  hath  no  thought  of  it? 

"  A  shallow  braine  can  never  judge 

The  sweet  or  sower  between, 
For  Vulcan  was  but  held  a  drudge, 
While  Venus  was  a  Queene. 

"  A  muddie  spirit  dwells  in  drosse, 

While  pure  affections  fire 
Enflames  the  heart  that  feeles  no  crosse 

To  compasse  his  desire, 
And  sweetly  doth  conseale  his  griefe, 
Who  rather  dies  then  begges  reliefe." 

We  pass  over  "  Sonnets  "  7  and  8,  in  order  to  direct  attention 
to  a  passage  from  "  Sonnet  9,"  which  is  precisely  in  Breton's  man 
ner:— 

"  Youth  but  a  blaze  of  time, 
Whome  Age  to  ashes  bringes ; 
Time  but  a  weary  chime 
That  death  to  sorrow  ringes, 
While  wealth  the  weight  of  care  doth  proove 
The  world  hath  little  what  to  love. 

"  Beautie  is  sildome  wise, 
Nor  wit  hath  fortune  friend ; 
And  love  in  Argus  eyes 
Findes  Jealouzie  a  fiend: 
While  truth  doth  gaine  so  little  grace 
As  makes  the  world  a  woefull  place." 

"  Sonnet  9"  is  misprinted  for  Sonnet  10.  The  last  poem  in  the 
volume  (which  ends  on  sign.  E  3  b)  deserves  to  be  extracted,  if 
only  for  its  gayety  and  the  felicity  of  its  expression :  it  is  as  lively 
as  it  is  lovely ;  and  we  are,  of  course,  to  conclude  that  it  is  ad 
dressed  to  Aglaia :  — 

"Pretty  twinkling  starry  eyes, 
How  did  Nature  first  devise 
Such  a  sparkling  in  your  sight 
As  to  give  love  such  delight, 


104  Bibliographical  2Urount  of 

As  to  make  him,  like  a  flye, 
Play  with  lookes  untill  he  die  V 

"  Sure,  yee  were  not  made  at  first 
For  such  mischief  to  be  curst, 
As  to  kill  affections  care 
That  doth  onely  truth  declare : 
Where  worthes  wonders  never  wither, 
Love  and  Beauty  live  together. 

"  Blessed  eyes,  then  give  your  blessing, 
That  in  passions  best  expressing, 
Love,  that  onely  lives  to  grace  yee, 
May  not  suffer  pride  deface  yee; 
But  in  gentle  thoughtes  directions 
Shew  the  praise  of  your  perfections." 

If  "  The  Passionate  Shepherd"  had  been  a  book  of  almost 
every-day  occurrence,  it  would  well  have  deserved  notice  for  its 
indisputable  merits ;  but  when  it  is  for  the  first  time  introduced 
to  notice,  and  no  other  copy  has  ever  been  heard  of,  it  would  be 
idle  to  apologize  for  the  length  and  minuteness  of  our  criticism. 
Perhaps  Breton  was  led  to  his  title  by  the  fact  that  Marlowe's 
ballad  in  "  England's  Helicon,"  1600,  (sign.  A  a  b,)  is  headed 
"  The  Passionate  Sheepheard  to  his  Love."  We  need  scarcely 
add,  that  in  the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I.,  the  words  "  Poet " 
and  "  Shepherd  "  were  often  used  synonymously. 


BRETON,  NICHOLAS.  —  The  Pilgrimage  to  Paradise,  joyned 
with,  the  Countesse  of  Pembrookes  loue,  compiled  in 
Verse  by  Nicholas  Breton,  Gentleman.  Ccelum  virtutis 
patria.  —  At  Oxford  printed  by  Joseph  Barnes,  and  are 
to  be  solde  in  Paules  Church-yaard  at  the  signe  of  the 
Tygres  head.  1592.  4to.  B.  L. 

Unquestionably  one  of  the  rarest  of  Breton's  many  produc 
tions  :  we  believe  that  only  one  or  two  copies  of  it  are  known. 

It  is  dedicated  "  to  the  Ladie  Mary  Countesse  of  Pembrooke," 
followed  by  an  address  "  to  the  Gentlemen  studients  and  Scholars 


€ngltsl)  Citeratnre.  105 

of  Oxforde,"  dated  "this  12th  of  Aprill,  1592."  To  this  address 
is  appended  a  singular  note,  regarding  the  frauds  of  booksellers, 
or  stationers,  of  that  day  :  it  is  this  :  — 

"  Gentlemen,  there  hath  been  of  late  printed  in  London  by  one  Richarde 
Joanes,  a  printer,  a  booke  of  englishe  verses  entituled  Bretons  bower  of 
delights.  I  protest  it  was  donne  altogether  without  my  consent  or  knowl 
edge,  and  many  thinges  of  other  mens  mingled  with  a  few  of  mine;  for, 
except  Amends  Lachrimce,  an  epitaphe  upon  Sir  Phillip  Sydney,  and  one 
or  two  other  toies,  which  I  know  not  how  he  unhappily  came  by,  I  have 
no  part  with  any  of  them:  and  so,  I  beseech  you,  assuredly  beleeve." 

Now,  it  so  happens  that  this  "  one  Richard  Jones"  had  printed 
and  published  Breton's  earliest  work,  "  A  small  Handfull  of  Fra 
grant  Flowers,"  in  1575;  his  second  work,  "A  Flourish  upon 
Fancie,"  in  1577  (again  in  1582)  ;  as  well  as  his  "  Bowre  of  De 
lights,"  in  1591  (again  in  1597)  :  so  that  it  should  seem  as  if  Bre 
ton,  at  all  events  until  1591,  had  employed  this  "one  Richard 
Jones,"  though  he  afterwards  resorted  to  others.  Jones  may  have 
surreptitiously  obtained  the  MS.  of  the  "  Bowre  of  Delights,"  call 
ing  it  Brittons  instead  of  "  Bretons  "  for  a  fraudulent  purpose,  and 
may  have  mingled  pieces  by  a  then  very  popular  author  with 
others  of  less  excellence  and  notoriety,  for  the  sake  of  forming  a 
substantial  volume.  Breton's  popularity  afterwards  declined  in 
some  degree,  and  fluctuated  considerably :  he  continued  a  writer 
until  long  after  Charles  I.  came  to  the  throne,  and  in  1625  appears 
to  have  lived  in  the  parish  of  St.  Giles,  Cripplegate,  for  in  the 
Register  of  that  church,  under  date  of  the  27th  July,  1625,  we 
find  that  "  Matilda  the  daughter  of  Nicholas  Brittaine  "  was  buried. 
His  own  marriage  with  Annes  Sutton  is  recorded  there,  14th  Jan. 
1592.  The  person  we  take  to  have  been  his  father,  or  possibly 
grandfather,  named  also  Nicholas  Brittayne,  was  buried  at  St. 
James,  Garlickhithe,  on  24th  May,  1 564.  Formerly  we  confidently 
believed  that  the  Nicholas  Breton,  Esq.,  who  was  buried  at  Nor 
ton,  Staffordshire,  on  22d  June,  1624,  was  the  poet,  but  we  have 
since  found  the  preceding  registrations,  and  an  entry  in  a  MS. 
(Cotton.  Galba,  D  I.  135)  showing  that  a  "  Capt.  Nich.  Breton" 
went  with  Lord  Leicester  to  the  Low  Countries,  who  was  doubtless 
the  person  buried  at  Norton.  Nicholas  Breton,  the  poet  and 
pamphleteer,  is  twice  mentioned  in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  viz., 


106  JJtbliograpljkal  2Uamnt  of 

in  "  The  Scornful  Lady,"  edit.  Dyce,  III.  28,  and  in  "  Wit  with- 
out  Money,"  ibid.  IV.  150. 

Reverting  from  these  biographical  particulars  to  Breton's  pro 
ductions,  we  may  repeat  that  he  sometimes  published  under  his 
own  name,  sometimes  under  his  initials  N.  B.,  sometimes  reversing 
them  as  B.  N.,  and  sometimes  anonymously.  Under  the  last, 
however,  in  the  list  given  in  the  new  edition  of  Lowndes'  Bibl. 
Man.  I.  263,  "  Pleasant  Quippes  for  Upstart  New-fangled  Gentle 
women,"  1595  and  1596,  is  assigned  to  him  by  mistake,  because 
(as  is  stated  elsewhere,  B.  M.  p.  2030)  it  belongs  to  Stephen  Gos- 
son,  who  had  a  vein  for  poetry  and  satire.  Breton  often  put  only 
his  initials  upon  the  title-pages,  or  at  the  end  of  the  dedications 
of  his  pieces  ;  but  we  do  not  believe  that  he  ever  resorted  to 
Richard  Jones  as  a  publisher  after  1591,  although  Jones  of  his 
own  authority  put  forth  a  second  edition  of  what  he  still  called 
"Brittons  Bowre  of  Delights"  in  1597. 

The  dedication  and  address  by  Breton  before  his  "  Pilgrimage 
to  Paradise  "  are  followed  by  a  prose  letter  from  John  Case,  M.  D., 
in  praise  of  the  book,  and  in  laudation  of  the  Countess  of  Pem 
broke  ;  and  by  a  copy  of  Latin  verses,  Gulielini  Gageri,  Legum 
Doctoris,  the  defender  of  dramatic  performances  against  the  cel 
ebrated  Dr.  John  Rairioldes.  The  body  of  the  book  is  a  somewhat 
tedious  allegory,  Spenser  having  rendered  that  species  of  compo 
sition  popular  by  the  publication  of  the  three  first  books  of  his 
"  Fairy  Queen"  in  1590.  We  need  not  delay  to  describe  the 
construction  attempted  by  Breton,  but  we  may  quote  with  ap 
probation  the  following  stanza,  where  he  rather  humorously  draws 
the  portrait  of  a  fantastical  lover :  — 

"  After  all  these  upon  the  right  hand  went 
A  silly  foole,  for  so  I  tearme  him  right, 
With  wringing  hands,  that  seemed  to  lament 
Some  crossing  humor  to  a  vaine  delight: 
For  love,  forsooth,  and  nought  but  love  it  was, 
That  made  a  woman  make  a  man  an  Asse. 

"  Of  Venus  frailty  and  of  Cupids  blindenes 
He  cried  out.  Oh !  that  ever  they  were  borne ! 
And  of  his  mistres  more  then  most  unkindues, 
That  did  so  much  his  truest  service  skorue : 


drngltslj  Citarator*.  107 

Yet  still  he  lovde  her,  and  he  did  so  love  her, 
It  was  his  death :  he  never  could  recover. 

"  And  then  he  sight,  and  sobde,  and  hong  the  head, 
And  wept  and  wailde,  and  cast  up  both  his  eies, 
And  in  a  trance,  as  if  a  man  were  dead, 
Or  did  some  dying  kinde  of  fit  devise; 
Untill  he  wakte,  and  then  he  cried,  Oh  love ! 
That  ever  lover  should  such  sorrowe  prove ! 

"  And  then  he  redde  his  verses  and  his  rimes, 
Wherein  he  praisde  her,  too  too  out  of  reason ; 
And  then  he  sight  to  thinke  how  many  times 
He  watcht  the  day,  the  night,  the  hower,  the  season, 
To  finde  some  fruite  of  his  deserved  favoure, 
But  al  his  flowers  were  weedes  that  had  no  savour." 

"  The  Countess  of  Pembroke's  Love "  is  merely  a  religious 
poem,  which  has  also  been  mistakenly  called  "  The  Countess  of 
Pembroke's  Passion."  It  is  an  easy  piece  of  versification,  but  it 
makes  no  pretension  to  originality  :  the  "  love  "  treated  of  is  holy 
love,  but  bears  no  sort  of  resemblance,  excepting  in  the  mere  sub 
ject,  to  Spenser's  "  Hymn  to  Heavenly  Love." 


BRETON,  NICHOLAS.  —  Pasquils  Mad-cap  and  his  Mes 
sage.  —  London.  Printed  by  V.  S.  for  Thomas  Bushell, 
and  are  to  bee  solde  at  his  shop  at  the  great  North 
doore  of  Paules.  1 600.  4to.  24  leaves. 

There  were  certainly  two  editions  of  this  performance  in  the 
same  year,  differing  not  only  in  title,  but  in  typography,  showing 
that  the  second  edition  was  a  reprint,  and  not  merely  a  reissue 
with  a  new  forefront.  This  circumstance  is  nowhere  noticed  :  in 
one  copy  the  tract  is  called  "  Pasquils  Mad-cap  and  his  Message," 
and  in  the  other,  "  Pasquils  Mad-cap  and  Mad-cappes  Message  : " 
both  were  by  the  same  printer  and  publisher,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  poem  was  popular.  We  assign  it  to  Breton  on  the 
strength  of  his  own  acknowledgment  in  "  the  second  part,"  of 


108  Bibliographical  Account  ot 

which  we  shall  next  speak ;  for  "  Pasquils  Mad-cap  "  was  in  the 
first  instance  anonymous,  the  author  waiting,  perhaps,  to  ascertain 
how  it  was  liked. 

The  main,  if  not  the  whole,  purpose  of  the  writer  seems  to 
have  been  to  show  the  great  advantage  of  being  rich,  and  he 
runs  over  all  classes  and  descriptions  of  persons  :  — 

"  The  wealthy  Rascal,  be  he  ne're  so  base, 

Filthy,  ill-favoured,  ugly  to  behold, 
Mowle-eie,  Plaise-mouth,  Dogges-tooth  and  Camels  face, 

Blind,  dumbe  and  deafe,  diseased  rotten,  old ; 

Yet,  if  he  have  his  coffers  full  of  gold, 
He  shall  have  reverence,  curtsie,  cappe  and  knee, 
And  worship,  like  a  man  of  high  degree. 

"  He  shall  have  Ballads  written  in  his  praise, 

Bookes  dedicate  unto  his  patronage ; 
Wittes  working  for  his  pleasure  many  waies, 

Petigrees  sought  to  mend  his  parentage, 

And  linckt,  perhaps,  in  noble  marriage: 
He  shall  have  all  that  this  vile  world  can  give  him, 
That  into  Pride,  the  Divels  mouth,  may  drive  him." 

This  is  certainly  not  so  new  as  true  ;  and  Breton  goes  on  in  a 
similar  strain  to  lecture  players,  poets,  and  authors  of  tragedies 
and  comedies,  for  the  manner  in  which  they  flattered  the  wealthy 
and  powerful :  nevertheless,  he  was  himself  quite  as  apt  as  other 
writers  to  offend  in  this  respect.  "  Mad-cappes  Message,"  which 
begins  on  p.  29,  is  in  six-line  stanzas,  and  the  following  is  one  of 
them :  — 

"  Tell  country  Players,  that  old  paltry  jests, 

Pronounced  in  a  painted  motley  coate, 
Fill  all  the  world  so  full  of  Cuckoes  nests, 

That  Nightingales  can  scarcely  sing  a  note; 
Or  bid  them  turne  their  minds  to  better  meanings: 
Fields  are  ill  sowne  that  give  no  better  gleanings." 

If  particular  and  personal  allusions  were  intended,  as  is  most 
likely,  they  are  not  now  intelligible :  we  therefore  pass  them  over. 


(Karlg  (ffnglialj  f  iterator*.  109 

BRETON,  NICHOLAS.  —  The  second  part  of  Pasquil's  Mad 
cap,  intituled  The  Fooles-Cap.  With  Pasquils  Passion. 
Begun  by  himself,  and  finished  by  his  Friend  Marpho- 
rius.  —  Imprinted  at  London,  for  Thomas  Johnes,  dwell 
ing  neere  Holborne  Conduit,  1600.  4to.  19  leaves. 

This  poem  was  dedicated  by  Breton  to  Master  Edward  Con 
quest  ;  and,  in  some  preliminary  lines,  he  complains  that  a  "  second 
part "  had  been  published  of  which  he  was  not  the  author.  The 
fact  is,  that  the  success  of  the  first  part,  which  Breton  had  not 
owned  until  he  saw  how  it  was  received,  had  encouraged  imita 
tion;  but  that  imitation  has  not  survived.  This  "  second  part"  is 
hardly  as  good  as  the  first ;  and  here  the  author  attacks  some 
classes  of  the  female,  as  well  as  of  the  male,  sex,  as  in  the  subse 
quent  stanza  :  — 

"  Shee  that  doth  keepe  an  Inne  for  every  Guest, 
And  makes  no  care  what  winde  blows  up  her  skirt, 
And  ready  is  to  breake  a  Chaucers  jeast, 
To  make  a  smocke  even  measure  with  a  shirt; 
If  such  a  one  be  call'd  a  foolish  flirt, 

Twas  not  for  nothing  that  she  had  her  name, 
When  all  the  world  is  witnesse  to  her  shame." 

Breton  often  changed  his  publisher,  and  this  "  second  part  "of 
"  Pasquil's  Mad-cap  "  was  not  brought  out  by  the  same  stationer 
who  issued  the  first  part. 


BRETON,  NICHOLAS.  —  The  Passion  of  a  Discontented 
Minde.  —  London.  Printed  by  T.  C.  for  John  Baily, 
and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  shop  at  the  doore  of  the  Office 
of  the  Sixe  Clarkes  in  Chancerie  Lane.  1602,  4to. 
12  leaves. 

This  piece  has  always  been  attributed  to  Breton,  but  it  has  no 
where  any  distinct  mark  of  his  authorship,  (neither  name  nor 
initials,)  and  it  was  not  put  forth  by  any  one  of  his  previous 
publishers.  The  fifth  stanza  begins  as  follows :  — 


110  Bibliographical  2Uanmt  of 

"  0  that  the  learned  Poets  of  our  time 
(Who  in  a  love-sick  line  so  well  endite) 
Would  not  consume  good  wit  in  hateful  Rime, 
But  would  with  care  some  better  subject  write: 
For,  if  their  musicke  please  in  earthly  things, 
Well  would  it  sound  if  straind  with  heavenly  strings." 

It  would  apply  to  Breton  quite  as  well  as  to  others  of  his  day. 
The  writer  is  far  from  consistent,  for  in  one  place  he  gives  himself 
over  to  despair,  and  in  another  thus  exclaims  :  — 

"I  might  as  others  (Lord)  have  perished 

Amid  my  sinnes  and  damnable  delights, 
But  thou  (good  God)  with  care  my  soule  hast  cherished, 

And  brought  it  home  to  taste  on  heavenly  lights. 
Aye  me !  what  thankes,  what  service  can  I  render 
To  thee  that  of  my  safetie  art  so  tender?  " 

The  last  stanza  is  this  :  — 

"  I  sing  not  I  of  wanton  love-sieke  laies, 

Of  trickling  toyes  to  feede  fantasticke  eares, 
My  Muse  respects  no  flattering  tatling  praise; 
A  guiltie  conscience  this  sad  passion  beares. 
My  sinne-sicke  soule,  with  sorrow  woe  begonne, 
Lamenting  thus  a  wretched  deed  misdone." 

If  the  poem  were  composed  in  consequence  of  some  particular 
crime,  that  circumstance  is  not  specified.  Above  we  ought  to 
read,  not  "  trickling,"  but  "  tickling  toyes."  We  doubt  Breton's 
authorship. 


BRETON,  NICHOLAS. —  Strange  Newes  out  of  Divers  Coun 
tries,  never  discovered  till  of  late  by  a  strange  Pilgrime 
in  those  parts. —  London,  Printed  by  W.  Jones  for 
George  Fayerbeard  &c.  1622.  B.  L.  4to.  14  leaves. 

This  also  is  one  of  the  numerous  performances  of  Nicholas 
Breton,  his  initials  reversed  being  at  the  end  of  the  short  preface. 
He  began  his  career  of  authorship,  as  we  have  already  stated,  in 
1575,  and  he  did  not  conclude  it  until  1636,  —  at  least  that  is  the 
date  of  "  The  Figure  of  Foure,"  his  latest  known  work.  The 
pamphlet  before  us  has  little  merit,  and  much  of  it  is  now  unin- 


l)  £tteratttre.  Ill 

telligible,  purporting  to  give  a  rambling,  satirical,  and,  we  must 
say,  nonsensical  account  of  the  manners  of  a  supposed  people. 
The  last  part  of  it  is  in  verse,  consisting  of  eleven  apologues  in 
the  shape  of  dreams :  the  following  is  one  of  the  best,  —  best  be 
cause  shortest : 

"  A  Dreame  of  an  Oister  and  a  Crab. 
"  Upon  the  shore  neere  to  the  Sea  an  Oister,  gaping  wide, 
Lay  looking  for  a  little  food  to  come  in  with  the  Tide ; 
But  hard  by  lay  a  crauling  Crab,  who  watcht  his  time  before, 
And  threw  a  stone  betweene  the  shels,  that  they  could  shut  no  more. 
The  Oister  cride,  Ho,  neighbours!  theeves!   but  ere  the  neighbours 

came, 

The  Crab  had  murtherd  the  poore  fish  and  fed  upon  the  same, 
When  wondring  that  such  craft  did  live  with  creatures  in  the  deepe, 
With  troubling  of  my  braines  withall,  I  wakt  out  of  my  sleepe." 

It  is  very  possible  that  this  is  only  a  reimpression  of  an  earlier, 
but  now  lost,  edition,  and  the  verses  are  of  a  kind,  and  in  a  form, 
popular  about  thirty  years  earlier.  On  the  title-page  is  a  wood 
cut  (or,  rather,  separate  woodcuts)  of  two  figures,  one  a  knight 
in  armor,  and  the  other  a  man  in  a  cloak,  and  over  them  the 
words  "  The  Pilgrimes." 

We  may  add  that  in  1597  was  published  by  N.  Ling  a  very 
rare  piece  by  Breton,  his  names  being  at  length  upon  the  title- 
page,  which  he  called  "  Wits  Trenchmour  in  a  Conference  had 
betwixt  a  Scholar  and  an  Angler":  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
it  has  any  connection  with  fishing,  an  "angler"  meaning  at  that 
time  a  person  who  lived  by  his  wits.  The  tract  occupies  only 
two  sheets  4to. 

It  is  out  of  the  question  to  impute  to  Breton  (as  is  done  by  er 
ror  in  the  last  edit,  of  Lowndes'  Bibl.  Man.  p.  264)  the  "  Plot  of  the 
Play  called  England's  Joy  ":  it  was  the  production  of  Vennar,  or 
Vennard  :  see  "  Hist.  Engl.  Dram.  Poetry  and  the  Stage,"  III.  405. 


BREWER,  THOMAS.  — 

A  knot  of  Fooles.     But 
Fooles  or  Knaves,  or  both,  I  care  not, 
Here  they  are ;  Come  laugh  and  spare  not. 


112  Bibliographical  Account  of 

Printed  at  London  for  Francis  Grove  &c.     1624.     4to. 
14  leaves. 

The  only  edition  of  this  satirical  poem  mentioned  by  bibliog 
raphers  is  dated  1658;1  but,  as  the  author,  Thomas  Brewer, 
printed  "  The^Weeping  Lady,"  in  1625,  on  the  plague  in  that  year, 
it  seemed  improbable  that  there  should  have  been  so  wide  an  in 
terval  of  time  between  his  productions.  This  first  impression  of 
the  "  Knot  of  Fooles  "  has  a  rude  woodcut  on  the  title,  with  seven 
figures,  one  female,  and  six  male,  in  various  habits,  meant  to  rep 
resent  characters  spoken  of  in  the  body  of  the  tract.  Three 
lively  stanzas  "  to  the  Reader  "  are  signed  "  Tho.  Brewer,"  and 
the  production  is  introduced  by  a  dialogue  between  a  number  of 
Fools,  in  which  they  display  their  several  humors.  We  then 
come  to  the  body  of  the  work,  consisting  of  satirical  and  some 
times  abusive  remarks,  in  couplets,  upon  the  vices  of  the  time  and 
their  professors,  under  separate  and  quaint  titles,  such  as  "  Much 
adoe  about  nothing  ;  "  "  Tomble  downe  Dieke  ;  "  "A  Foole  and 
his  money  is  soon  parted  ;"  "  Wit,  whither  wilt  thou,"  &c.  The 
conclusion,  called  "Pride  teaching  Humility,"  in  seven -line 
stanzas,  is,  perhaps,  the  best  part  of  the  whole.  It  relates  to  the 
reproof  of  Sesostris,  for  his  pride  and  vainglory,  by  one  of  the 
kings  who  was  compelled  to  draw  the  conqueror's  triumphant 
chariot  into  Memphis.  The  two  last  stanzas  may  be  quoted  as  a 
specimen  :  — 

"  He  now  can  see  they  (like  himselfe)  are  men, 
And  so  much  being,  had  their  blood  been  base, 
It  yet  had  beene  more  pure,  more  precious  then 
For  such  low  duties:  how  much  more  disgrace 
Impos'd  on  greatnesse  —  men  whose  birth  and  place 

Were  as  his  owne  was.     This  he  now  can  see ; 

For  this  he  grieves,  for  this  he  sets  them  free, 

"  Takes  to  his  Chariot  horses ;  and  these  Kings 
As  men,  his  fellowes  and  his  dearest  friends, 
To  whom  in  notes  concordant  now  he  sings 
The  dulcet  part  of  kindnesse,  that  transcends 

l  The  edit,  of  1624  is  noticed  by  Mr.  Bohn  in  his  2d  edit,  of  Lowndes' 
B.  M.  p.  269,  from  the  copy  in  the  Bridgw.  Catalogue. 


(farlg  £mjU0!j  ^iterator*.  113 

A  common  friendship ;  noting  Fortune  lends 
By  fits  her  favours.    In  our  Christian  phrase, 
Heaven  hates  the  haughty,  doth  the  humble  raise." 


BROWNE,  WILLIAM.  —  Britannia's  Pastorals.  Lond  :  print  : 
for  Geo:  Norton  dwell:  at  Temple  barr.  Fol.  134 
leaves. 

The  above  title  is  an  engraved  frontispiece  of  two  Cupids  sup 
porting  a  scroll,  and  below  it  a  shepherd  and  shepherdess      The 
dedication,  to  the  Lord  Zouch,  Saint  Maure,  and  Cantelupe,  is 
without  date,  but  the  address  « to  the  Reader  "  is  "  From  the  Inner 
Temple,  June  the  18. 1613,"  and  here  Browne  speaks  of  this  work 
as  «  the  first  bloomes  of  his  Poesie."    Latin  and  English  commend 
atory  verses  by  "I.  Selden  Juris.  C.,"  Michael  Dray  ton,  Edward 
ttey  ward,  Christopher  Brooke,  Fr.  Dynne,  Tho.  Gardiner,  W.  Fer- 
rar,  andFr.  Guide,  introduce  the  five  songs  of  which  the  first  part 
of  "  Britannia's  Pastorals  "  consists.  «  The  second  book  "  has  a  new 
title-page:  -Britannia's  Pastorals.      The  second  Booke:  Horat. 
Carmine  Dii  superi  placantur,  carmine  Manes.     London  Printed 
by  Thomas  Snodham  for  George  Norton  &c.  1616."     This  has  a 
distinct  dedication  to  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  and  laudatory  Latin 
and  English  verses  by  John  Glanvill ;  Tho.  Wenman;  W.Her 
bert;   John  Davies,  of  Heref ;    Carolus  Croke  ;    Unton    Croke- 
Anth  :  Vincent ;  John  Morgan  ;  Thomas  Heygate  ;  Augustus  C£e- 
sar;  G.  Wither;  W.  B.  and  Ben  Jonson.    The  second  book,  also 
consists  of  five  songs,  or  pastorals.     The  latter  part  of  the  first 
song  contains  Browne's  beautiful  and  grateful  tribute  to  Spenser  : 

"  all  their  pipes  were  still, 

And  Colin  Clout  began  to  tune  his  quill 
With  such  deep  art,  that  every  one  was  given 
To  think  Apollo  (newly  slid  from  heaven) 
Had  tane  a  human  shape  to  win  his  love, 
Or  with  the  westerne  Swains  for  glory  strove. 
He  sung  th'  heroicke  Knights  of  Faiery  Land 
In  lines  so  elegant,  of  such  command, 
That  had  the  Thracian  play'd  but  half  so  well 
He  had  not  left  Eurydice  in  hell. 

VOL.   I.  8 


114  Btbltcgrapljkal  3Ucotmt  of 

But  ere  he  ended  his  melodious  song, 

An  host  of  Angels  flew  the  clouds  among, 

And  rapt  this  Swan  'from  his  attentive  mates 

To  make  him  one  of  their  associates 

In  heavens  fair  Quire,  where  now  he  sings  the  praise 

Of  him  that  is  the  first  and  last  of  days. 

Divinest  Spenser!  heaven-bred,  happy  muse ! 

Would  any  power  into  my  brain  infuse 

Thy  worth,  or  all  that  poets  had  before, 

I  could  not  praise  'till  thou  deserv'st  no  more." 

In  the  second  song  of  Book  II.,  Browne  introduces  laudatory 
notices  of  George  Chapman,  Michael  Drayton,  Ben  Jonson,  Sam 
uel  Daniel,  Christopher  Brooke,  John  Davies,  and  George  Wither. 
With  the  latter,  as  has  been  already  noticed,  (see  p.  95,)  he  wrote 
"  The  Shepherds  Pipe  " :  in  fact,  when  it  was  reprinted  in  1620, 
8vo,  it  was  included  among  "  The  Workes  of  Master  George 
Wither,"  the  volume  being  introduced  by  Wither's  "  Satire  to  the 
King,"  and  his  "  Epithalamia,"  and  followed  by  his  "  Shepherds 
Hunting,"  "Fidelia,"  &c.  "Britannia's  Pastorals"  were  again 
printed  in  8vo  in  1623  and  1625. 

Christopher  Brooke,  above  mentioned,  was  partner  with  Browne 
in  "  Elegies"  on  the  death  of  Henry  Prince  of  Wales,  4to,  1613 ; 
but  in  1614  he  published  a  separate  poem  of  great  merit,  entitled, 
"  The  Ghost  of  Richard  the  Third."  The  dedication  to  Sir  John 
Crompton  is  only  subscribed  C.  B.,  but  there  can  be  no  hesitation 
in  assigning  those  initials  to  Christopher  Brooke,  whose  production 
was  ushered  by  commendatory  verses  from  several  eminent  poets 
of  the  day,  viz.,  George  Chapman,  W.  Browne,  (whose  name 
might  of  course  be  looked  for,)  George  Wither,  Robert  Daborne, 
and  Ben  Jonson.  Only  two  copies  of  it  are,  we  believe,  in  exist 
ence,  but  its  interest  and  importance  may  at  once  be  established 
by  the  following  stanzas,  directly  referring  to  Shakspeare  and  to 
his  popular  tragedy,  put  into  the  mouth  of  Richard's  Ghost :  — 

"  To  him  that  impt  my  fame  with  Clio's  quill, 
Whose  magick  rais'd  me  from  Oblivion's  den, 

That  writ  my  storie  on  the  Muses'  hill, 
And  with  my  actions  dignifi'd  his  pen; 

He  that  from  Helicon  sends  many  a  rill, 
Whose  nectared  veines  are  drunke  by  thirstie  men, 


(Earls  <£nglisl)  Citcraturc.  115 

Crown'd  be  his  stile  with  fame,  his  head  with  bayes, 
And  none  detract,  but  gratulate  his  praise! 

"  Yet  if  his  scaenes  have  not  engrost  all  grace, 

The  much  fam'd  action  could  extend  on  stage; 

If  time  or  memory  have  left  a  place 

For  me  to  fill,  t'  enforme  this  ignorant  age, 

To  that  intent  I  shew  my  horrid  face, 

Imprest  with  feare  and  characters  of  rage: 

Nor  wits  nor  chronicles  could  ere  containe 

The  hell-deepe  reaches  of  my  soundlesse  braine." 

The  piece  is  divided  into  two  portions,  and  the  above  com 
mences  the  second ;  but  throughout,  Brooke  had  Shakspeare's 
historical  drama  in  his  eye  and  memory,  and  could  not  avoid 
making  many  allusions  to,  and  quotations  from  it.  Of  the  author 
we  may  add  that  he  was  educated  for  the  Bar,  to  which  he  was 
called  about  the  year  1610,  and  that  he  attained  eminence,  espe 
cially  as  a  real-property  lawyer  :  he  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  Lord 
Chancellor  Ellesmere,  who  possessed  several  of  his  legal  MSS., 
including  opinions  upon  cases  submitted  to  him.  Still  Brooke  did 
not  altogether  relinquish  poetry  or  its  professors,  and  as  late  as 
1625  he  wrote  a  funereal  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Sir  Arthur 
Chichester,  reviewed,  at  more  length  than  its  real  merits  claim,  in 
Brit.  Bibl.  II.  235. 


BROUGHTON,  ROWLAND.  —  A  briefe  discourse  of  the  lyfe 
and  death  of  the  late  right  high  and  honorable  Sir 
William  Pawlet,  Knight,  Lord  Saint  John,  Erie  of  Wil- 
shire,  Marques  of  Winchester,  Knight  of  the  honorable 
order  of  the  Garter,  one  of  the  Queenes  Maiesties 
priuie  Counsel,  and  Lorde  high  Treasourer  of  Englande. 
Which  deceased  the  tenth  day  of  March.  1571.  And 
was  buried  at  Basing  the  28  day  of  Aprill,  Anno 
M.D.LXXIL  —  Printed  at  London  by  Richarde  lohnes, 
Anno  1572.  8vo.  B.  L.  16  leaves. 

While  Wolsey,  More,  Cromwell,  and  other  statesmen,  lost  their 


116  Btbliograpljkal  Account  of 

lives  in  the  service  of  Henry  VIIL,  Sir  William  Pawlet,  who  was 
employed  by  the  same  sovereign,  though  not  with  equal  distinc 
tion,  was  fortunate  enough  to  survive  far  into  the  reign  of  Eliza 
beth.  He  was  born  in  1465,  and  did  not  die  until  the  spring  of 
1572.  Although  we  may  presume  that  this  tribute  to  his  memory, 
written  by  an  old  servant  who  had  worn  his  livery,  was  published, 
we  find  no  trace  of  it  in  the  Registers  of  the  Stationers'  Company, 
and  only  a  single  copy  of  it  has  been  preserved.  Of  the  author 
nothing  is  recorded  but  what  he  himself  supplies,  although  it  is 
clear  that  other  rhyming  productions  had  come  from  his  pen. 

Broughton  supposes  himself  to  be  seated  in  his  study,  on  1 2th 
March,  1571-72,  when  the  spirit  of  his  late  noble  master,  who 
had  died  two  days  before,  appeared  to  him,  and  reproached  him 
with  neglecting  to  lament  his  loss  in  verse :  — 

"  Canst  thou  (quoth  he),  with  clownish  cluche 

benumbde,  forget  thy  pen  ? 

Wilt  thou  untyll  so  idle  state 

transforme  thy  fingers  ten? 

"  What  hath  bee  witched  late  thy  powers, 

which  thou  wast  wont  to  use  ? 
Or  where  is  now  becom  the  fruite 
of  thy  acquainted  Muse?  " 

This  establishes  that  Broughton  was  not  a  novice  in  the  art  and 
mystery  ;  but  when  he  came  to  state  the  great  age  of  the  Marquis 
in  rhyme,  with  the  exact  days  of  his  birth  and  death,  his  ingenuity 
was  put  to  the  test,  and,  we  must  add,  not  very  successfully :  — 

"An.  a  thousande,  iiij  hundreth,  sixtie  five, 

he  was  borne  on  Whitson  night ; 
And  lived  a  C.  sixe,  three  quarter  and  od, 
by  computacion  right. 

"An.  thousand,  five  hundreth  seventie  one, 

the  tenth  of  March  last  past, 
He  vaded  as  a  Candell  doth, 
when  weeke  and  all  is  past." 

We  may  suspect  that  in  the  second  line  of  the  preceding  stanza 
"  last"  and  "past"  ought  to  change  places  for  the  sake  of  the 


Qmrln  (fnglislj  Citcraturt.  117 

rhyme.  It  was  no  great  compliment  to  say  that  his  Lord  went  out 
like  the  snuff  of  a  candle.  Camden  informs  us  that  the  Marquis 
was  only  9  7  years  old.  Broughton  touches  the  chief  points  of  his 
master's  career,  (admitting  that  he  "  had  worne  his  clothing  "  and 
as  a  "  servant "  had  enjoyed  his  "  countenance,")  and  winds  up 
thus : — 

"  To  finer  heads,  whose  fyled  verse 

in  hauty  style  abounde, 
Belongeth  this  most  famous  facte 
his  honour  for  to  sounde : 

"  Where  floweth  the  sweet  distilling  drops 

of  fresh  Minerva's  power, 
To  those  that  on  Mount  Helicon 
have  bathde  in  silver  shower.  *  *  * 

"  My  hermonye,  much  lyke  to  Pan, 

the  cuntrye  tourne  may  ease; 
But  fine  Apollo's  musicke  muste 
the  learned  people  please." 

Three  Latin  epitaphs,  following  an  English  one  in  six  long 
lines,  fill  the  two  last  pages,  and  show  that  Broughton  (who  signs 
them  R.  Br.)  was  not  altogether  deficient  in  scholarship  :  he  prob 
ably  acted  in  some  superior  capacity  in  the  household  of  the  Mar 
quis  of  Winchester.  As  poetry,  his  production  possesses  no  merit, 
even  for  the  time  when  it  was  written. 


BUCK,  SIR  GEORGE.  —  Aa>ts  HoXvarefavos.  An  Eclog 
treating  of  Crownes,  and  of  Garlandes,  and  to  whom  of 
right  they  appertaine.  Addressed,  and  consecrated  to 
the  Kings  Majestic.  By  G.  B.  Knight.  &c.  — At  Lon 
don  Printed  by  G.  Eld  for  Thomas  Adams.  1605. 
4to.  29  leaves. 

Sir  George  Buck,  or  Buc,  as  he  sometimes  spelt  his  name,  hav 
ing  been  knighted  in  1603,  became  Master  of  the  Revels  in  1610- 
In  the  interval  he  printed  this  poetical  tract,  his  earliest  produc- 


118  BtbUograpIjtcal  Ttcawnt  of 

tion,  dedicating  it,  in  a  Latin  inscription  and  in  an  English 
epistle,  to  King  James,  and  -subscribing  it  Georgius  Bucus,  Eq. 
Here  he  states  that  he  had  begun  the  poem  "  long  since,"  but 
"  could  not  finish  it  (according  to  my  project)  untill  such  time  as  he 
which  should  be  sent  (Expectatio  gentium  Britannicarum)  should 
come,  who  was  ordained  from  above  to  weare  all  these  crownes 
and  garlands,  and  to  reduce  this  whole  Isle  (with  the  hereditary 
Kingdomes  and  Provinces  thereof)  to  one  monarchic  and  entire 
Empire."  He  then  proceeds  to  deduce  the  genealogy  of  King 
James  from  the  earliest  period,  adding  an  engraved  table,  entitled 
Anglice  Regum  Prosapia  a  tempore  quo  Anglia  appellari  ccepit 
fyc.  The  plate  bears  date  in  1602,  with  the  engraver's  name, 
Joan.  Woutneel :  but  in  this  copy  it  is  altered  by  pen  and  ink  to 
1605.  Probably  Sir  George  Buck  originally  contemplated  the 
publication  of  the  work  in  1602.  "The  Preface  or  Argument 
of  this  Poesy  "  succeeds  upon  seven  leaves,  when  we  come  to  the 
text  of  the  work,  in  fifty-seven  eight-line  stanzas,  besides  "  L'En- 
voy  au  Roy,"  in  one  more  stanza,  and  "  Hohvxpoviov  :  the  Hymne 
inauguratory  for  his  Majesty,"  in  eight-syllable  couplets,  filling 
one  page.  The  last  page  is  occupied  by  a  Latin  epigram,  offered 
to  the  King  at  Hampton,  and  two  lines  in  Latin,  headed  Aliud  de 
symbolo  nummi  novi.  The  following  stanza  is  quoted  on  account 
of  its  accordance  with  the  notion  upon  which  Sir  George  Buck 
afterwards  enlarged  in  the  "  History  of  the  Life  and  Reign  of 
Richard  the  Third,"  published  in  1646,  about  twenty  years  after 
the  death  of  the  author :  — 

"  Two  Richards  more  succeed,  the  one  a  Prince 
Whose  goodly  presence  men  to  woonder  moved, 
And  was  as  bountefull  as  any  since. 
Fame  hath  been  sharp  to  th'  other;  yet  bicause 
All  accusations  of  him  are  not  proved, 
And  he  built  Churches,  and  made  good  laws, 
And  all  men  held  him  wise  and  valiant, 
Who  may  deny  him  then  his  Genest  plante?  " 

The  copy  before  us  was  presented  by  the  author  to  Lord  Elles- 
mere,  and  on  the  fly-leaf  is  a  poetical  inscription  in  Sir  George 
Buck's  handwriting.  It  is  very  clear  that  he  was  under  obliga 
tions  of  some  kind  to  his  lordship  in  1605,  and  it  is  not  unlikely 


fttrratare.  119 

that  the  Chancellor  subsequently  assisted  him  in  obtaining  the 
office  of  Master  of  the  Revels,  which  he  held  until  1622.  In  the 
last  line  the  writer  plays  upon  his  own  name,  and,  as  we  may 
guess,  upon  that  of  a  person  of  the  name  of  Griffin,  who  possibly 
had  been  his  adversary  in  a  Chancery  suit,  which  Lord  Ellesmere 
decided  in  favor  of  Sir  George  Buck.  Of  this  we  hear  nothing 
in  his  scanty  biography.  The  autograph  inscription  of  this  copy 
of  Aopwr  IlofoaTefavoc  to  Lord  Ellesmere  is  addressed  "  To  the 
right  honourable  the  greatest  counsellor,  Sir  Tho.  Egerton,  knight, 
baron  of  Ellesmere,  Lord  Chancellour  of  England,  my  very  good 
Lord,"  in  the  following  terms  :  — 

"  Great  &  graue  Lord,  my  mind  hath  longed  long 

In  any  thankful!  maner  to  declare, 

By  act  or  woor'd,  or  were  it  in  a  song, 

How  great  to  you  my  obligations  are, 

Who  did  so  nobly  and  so  timely  pluck 

From  Griffins  talons  your  distressed  Buck." 

A  comparison  with  this  specimen  of  the  penmanship  of  the  Mas 
ter  of  the  Revels  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  inscription  on  an  exist 
ing  copy  of  the  play  of"  Locrine,"  4to,  1595,  assigning  the  author 
ship  of  it  to  Charles  Tylney,  is  the  handwriting  of  Sir  George 
Buck.  He  adds  the  information,  that  he  himself  had  written  the 
"  dumb  shews  "  by  which  it  was  illustrated,  and  that  it  was  origi 
nally  called  "  Elstrild."  Charles  Tylney  was  brother  to  Edmond 
Tylney,  who  had  preceded  Sir  George  Buck  as  Master  of  the 
Revels.  The  interesting  question  of  the  authorship  of"  Locrine,' 
falsely  imputed  to  Shakspeare,  is  thus  decided. 


BUCKLER  AGAINST  DEATH.  —  A  Buckler  agaynst  the  feare 
of  Death,  or  Pyous  and  Profitable  Observations,  Medy- 
tations  and  Consolations  on  Mans  Mortality  by  E.  B. 
minister  in  G.  B.  —  London  Printed  for  Mi.  Sparkes 
Junior.  1640.  8vo.  68  leaves. 

The  above  title  is  engraved,  and  represents  Death  and  Time, 
with  a  skull  and  hour-glass  at  their  feet,  standing  on  each  side  of 
a  tablet,  holding  a  book  between  them,  and  above  them  is  a  buckler, 


120  BtbUograpljkal  ^cccttnt  of 

with  "  T.  R.  fe  :  "  at  the  corner :  opposite  are  fourteen  lines,  headed 
"  The  mind  of  the  Frontispiece."  It  is  followed  by  a  printed  title- 
page,  stating  that  the  work  was  "  By  E.  B.,"  without  any  addition, 
and  that  it  was  "  printed  by  Roger  Daniel,  Printer  to  the  Univer 
sity  of  Cambridge." 

The  dedication  is  "to  the  right  worshipfull  Mris  Helena 
Phelips,  and  Mris  Agneta  Gorges,  grand  children"  to  the  "late  Mar 
chioness  of  Northampton,  now  with  God."  The  author  nowhere 
gives  more  than  his  initials,  but  he  was  perhaps  Edward  Browne, 
who  in  1642  published  "  A  rare  Paterne  of  Justice  and  Mercy," 
&c.  The  author  writes  in  a  peculiar  kind  of  stanza,  and  in  Part 
1,  Meditation  7,  (for  his  work  is  divided  into  three  Parts,)  thus 
speaks  of  himself:  — 

"  I  have  been  oft  abroad,  yet  ne'r  could  find 
Half  the  contentment  which  I  found  at  home: 
Methought  that  nothing  suited  to  my  mind 
Into  what  place  soever  I  did  come. 

Though  I  nothing  needed  there, 

Neither  clothes,  nor  drink,  nor  meat, 

Nor  fit  recreations,  yet 

Methought  home  exceeded  farre." 

Considering  that  he  dedicates  his  poems  to  two  ladies,  E.  B.  is 
often  gross  in  his  allusions  and  indelicate  in  his  expressions  ;  and 
it  seems  to  have  been  rather  a  matter  of  vanity  with  him  to  speak 
plainly.  In  one  place,  he  fancies  a  rich  lady  at  the  point  of  death, 
whose  attendant  endeavors  to  console  her  mistress  by  pointing 
out  her  worldly  pleasures  and  possessions  :  — 

"  Here  for  your  feet  are  tinkling  ornaments : 
Here  are  your  bonnets,  and  your  net- woi-k  cauls : 
Fine  linen,  too,  that  every  eye  contents, 
Your  head-bands,  tablets,  eare-rings,  chains  &  falls : 

Your  nose-jewels  and  your  rings, 

Your  hoods,  crisping-pinnes  &  wimples, 

Glasses  that  bewray  your  pimples, 

Vails,  and  other  pretty  things  *  *  * 

"  Rich  chains  of  pearl  to  tie  your  hair  together, 
And  others  to  adorn  your  snowie  breast; 
Silk-stockings,  starre-like  shoes  of  Spanish  leather; 
And  that  which  farre  excelleth  all  the  rest, 


(Emglislj  Citerature.  121 

And  begets  most  admiration 
Of  your  clothes  is  not  their  matter, 
Though  the  world  affords  not  better, 
But  it  is  their  Frenchest  fashion." 

The  author  certainly  displays  suspicious  learning  upon  all  mat 
ters  connected  with  a  lady's  toilet  and  bed-room. 

It  is  worth  noting,  that  Thomas  Jordan  made  use  of  some  waste 
copies  of  this  book  to  defraud  such  as  would  pay  him  for  dedica 
tions  :  he  printed  a  new  title  to  it  without  date,  calling  it  "  Death 
Dissected,  or  a  Fort  against  Misfortune,"  and  palmed  it  off  upon 
the  unsuspecting  as  his  own  composition.  A  copy  with  this  pecu 
liarity  was  sold  in  Heber's  library,  Part  VIIL,  No.  1369.  Jordan 
was  unquestionably  a  great  trickster  in  these  matters ;  but  he  had 
usually  the  excuse  of  what  Chaucer  calls  "  a  hateful  good  "  — 
poverty. 


BULLEIN,  WILLIAM.  —  A  Dialogue  both  pleasaunt  and 
pietifull,  wherein  is  a  godlie  regiment  against  the  Fever 
Pestilence,  with  a  consolation  and  comforte  against 
death.  —  Newlie  corrected  by  William  Bullein,  the 
authour  thereof.  —  Imprinted  at  London  by  Ihon  Kings 
ton.  Julij  1573.  8vo.  B.  L.  Ill  leaves. 

There  was  an  earlier  impression  of  this  work  in  1564,  but  the 
edition  of  1573  was  "  corrected  by  the  author,"  the  last  work  on 
which  he  probably  was  engaged,  as  he  died  in  1576.  It  is  of  no 
value  at  this  time  of  day  as  a  medical  treatise,  though  the  author 
•was  very  eminent ;  but  we  advert  to  it  because  Bullein,  for  the  sake 
of  variety  and  amusement,  introduces  notices  of  Chaucer,  Gower, 
Lidgate,  Skelton,  and  Barclay,  which,  coming  from  a  man  who  was 
contemporary  with  two  of  them,  (for  Bullein  was  born  very  early 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,)  may  be  accepted  as  generally  ac 
curate  representations.  They  are  put  into  the  mouth  of  an  apothe 
cary,  whom  he  names  Crispine,  and  who  is  describing  Parnassus. 
Having  spoken  of  Homer,  Hesiod,  Ennius,  and  Lucan,  as  favorites 
of  the  Muses,  he  proceeds :  — 

"And  nere  theim  satte  old  morall  Goore,  with  pleasaunte  penne  in  hande, 


122  Btbltograpljkal  ^laount  of 

commendyng  honeste  love  without  luste,  and  pleasure  without  pride. 
Holinesse  in  the  Cleargy  without  hypocrisie,  no  tyrannic  in  rulers,  no 
falshode  in  Lawiers,  no  usurie  'in  Marchauntes,  no  rebellion  in  the  Com 
mons,  and  unitie  emong  kyngdomes."  &c. 

"  Skelton  satte  in  the  corner  of  a  piller,  with  a  frostie  bitten  face,  frown 
ing,  and  is  scante  yet  cleane  cooled  of  the  hotte  burnyng  cholour  kindeled 
against  the  cankered  Cardinall  Wolsey,  writing  many  a  sharpe  disticon 
with  bloudie  penne  againste  hym ;  and  sente  them  by  the  infernall  rivers 
Styx,  Flegiton  and  Acheron,  by  the  Feriman  of  helle,  called  Charon,  to 
the  said  Cardinall. 

"How  the  Cardinall  came  of  nought, 
And  his  Prelacie  solde  and  bought, 
And  where  such  Prelates  bee 
Sprong  of  lowe  degree : 
And  spirituall  dignitee, 
Farewell  benignitee, 
Farewell  simplicitee, 
Farewell  humanitee, 
Farewell  good  charitee. 

Thus  parvum  literatus 
Came  from  Rome  gatus, 
Doctor  dawpatus, 
Scante  a  bachelaratus. 

And  thus  Skelton  did  ende 
With  Wolsey  his  friende." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Dyce,  in  his  "  Skelton's  Works,"  I.  p.  Ixxxvj, 
cites  only  the  two  first  lines,  adding  that  the  rest  were  u  chiefly 
made  up  from  Skelton's  Works,"  not  being  aware  that  they  were 
a  parody,  and  one  of  the  oldest  in  our  language.  Of  Chaucer,  who 
comes  next,  Bullein  says  :  — 

"  Wittie  Chaucer  satte  in  a  Chaire  of  gold  covered  with  Eoses,  writing 
prose  and  risme,  accompanied  with  the  Spirites  of  many  kynges,  knightes 
and  faire  ladies,  whom  he  pleasauntly  besprinkeled  with  the  sweete  water 
of  the  welle  consecrated  unto  the  Muses;  and  as  the  heavenly  spirite 
commended  his  deare  Brigham  for  the  worthie  entombyng  of  his  bones, 
worthie  of  memorie,  in  the  long  slepyng  chamber  of  most  famous  kinges, 
even  so  in  tragedie  he  bewailed  the  sodaine  resurrection  of  many  a  noble 
man  before  their  time,  in  spoilyng  of  Epitaphes;  whereby  many  have 
lost  their  inheritannce."  &c. 

Here  again,  as  in  the  address  to  the  Reader  before  Warner's 
"  Continuance  of  Albion's  England,"  1606,  we  see  Brigham  justly 


Orarhj  (ffnglisl)  Citeratar*.  123 

applauded,  for  the  cost  he  incurred  in  the  "  worthy  emtombing  " 
of  Chaucer's  bones  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Of  Lidgate,  Bullein 
speaks  as  follows  :  — 

"  Lamentyng  Lidgate,  lurking  emong  the  lillie[s],  with  a  bald  skons, 
with  a  garlande  of  willowes  about  his  pate:  booted  he  was  after  sainct 
Benets  guise,  and  a  blacke  stamell  robe,  with  a  lothlie  monsterous  hoode 
hangyng  backwarde,  he  stoopyng  forward,  bewailyng  every  estate  with 
the  spirite  of  prouidence;  forseyng  the  falles  of  wicked  men,  and  the 
slipprie  seates  of  Princes;  the  ebbyng  and  flowyng,  the  risyng  and  falling 
of  men  in  auctoritie,  and  how  vertue  do  advaunce  the  simple,  and  vice 
overthrow  the  most  noble  of  the  worlde." 

Alexander  Barclay  Dr.  Bullein  calls  Bartlet,  in  the  irregular 
spelling  of  those  times  ;  and,  asserting  that  he  was  "  born  beyond 
the  cold  river  of  Tweed,"  we  see  no  sufficient  reason  for  disbeliev 
ing  that  he  was  a  native  of  Scotland.  Barclay,  after  writing  his 
Pastorals,  &c.,  did  not  die  until  1552,  so  that  Bullein  was  his 
contemporary,  and  most  likely  knew  him  and  the  fact.  He  ob 
serves  :  — 

"  Then  Bartlet,  with  an  hoopyng  russet  long  coate,  with  a  pretie  hoode 
in  his  necke,  and  five  knottes  upon  his  girdle,  after  Francis  tricks.  He 
was  borne  beyonde  the  cold  river  of  Twede.  Pie  lodged  upon  a  swete 
bed  of  Chamomill,  under  the  Sinamum  tree:  about  hym  many  Shep- 
herdes  and  shepe,  with  pleasaunte  pipes;  greatly  abhorring  the  life  of 
Courtiers,  Citizens,  Usurers  and  Banckruptes  &c.  whose  olde  dales  are 
miserable.  And  the  estate  of  Shepherdes  and  countrie  people  he  ac- 
coumpted  moste  happie  and  sure." 

Whether  Barclay  were  or  were  not  a  Scot,  certain  it  is  that  he 
lived  most  of  his  time  in  Devonshire,  far  from  the  metropolis  ; 
and  continuing  a  rigid  Catholic,  as  we  see,  of  the  order  of  St. 
Francis,  he  was  sure  to  be  abused  by  the  Protestants.  The  later 
portion  of  Bullein's  book  is  a  ridicule  of  travellers'  wonders,  with 
an  ironical  description  of  Great  Britain  (called  "  Taerg  Natrib. ") 
as  a  country  where  the  inhabitants  were  perfectly  holy  and  vir 
tuous.  Everybody,  even  Ritson,  has  called  this  work  "A  Dia 
logue  both  pleasant  and  pitifull,"  but  the  last  word  really  is  pieti- 
full,  i.  e.  full  of  piety. 


12  i  Bibltograpljioxl  Account  of 

BUL  WER,  JOHN.  —  Anthropometamorphosis  :  Man  trans- 
form'd,  or  the  Artificiall  Changling  historically  pre 
sented  in  the  mad  and  cruell  Gallantry,  foolish  Bravery, 
ridiculous  Beauty,  filthy  Finenesse,  and  loathsome  Love 
liness  of  most  Nations,  fashioning  and  altering  their 
bodies  from  the  mould  intended  by  Nature ;  with  Fig 
ures  of  those  Transfigurations,  &c.  And  an  Appendix 
of  the  Pedigree  of  the  English  Gallant.  Scripsit  J.  B. 
Cognomento  Chirosophus.  M.  D.  &c.  —  London,  Printed 
by  William  Hunt,  Anno  Dom  1653.  4to.  323  leaves. 

There  was  an  edition  in  1650,  8vo,  of  this  singular  and  learned 
work,  but  it  is  here  much  augmented  and  improved.  The  title- 
page  is  preceded  by  a  portrait  of  the  author,  by  W.  Faithorne, 
and  the  portrait  by  a  "  frontispiece,"  representing  persons  of  vari 
ous  nations,  with  their  peculiar  and  absurd  transformations,  brought 
to  trial  before  Nature,  who  engages  Adam  and  Eve  for  her  as 
sessors. 

After  five  pages  of  verse,  describing  many  of  the  monstrous 
changes  men  undergo  by  their  own  consent,  we  arrive  at  a  dedi 
cation  to  Thomas  Dickinson,  Esq.,  in  which  the  author  states  that 
the  present  was  the  fifth  time  "  the  heroic  disease  of  writing  "  had 
attacked  him :  to  this  are  appended  six  copies  of  commendatory 
verses  in  Latin  and  English,  followed  by  a  letter  to  the  author  in 
prose,  "  a  hint  of  the  use  of  this  treatise,"  Diploma  Appollinis  in 
Latin  hexameters,  a  list  of  authors  quoted  or  mentioned,  Errata, 
"  a  Table  of  the  Scenes  of  Mans  Transformation,"  and  a  general 
"  Introduction."  The  body  of  the  work  occupies  five  hundred 
and  fifty-nine  pages,  upon  which  are  many  coarsely  executed 
woodcuts,  representing  some  of  the  most  striking  "  transfigura 
tions."  On  p.  20  is  given  the  representation  of  one  of 

"  such  men 
Whose  heads  stood  in  their  breasts," 

a  race  in  the  existence  of  which  the  author  states  his  implicit  be 
lief,  and  this  at  a  date  fifty  years  subsequent  to  the  time  when 
Shakspeare  wrote  his  "Tempest"  and  "Othello,"  where  also 
"  men  whose  heads  do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders  "  are  spoken 


(ffarljj  <£nigltsl)  £  itcraturc.  125 

of.  Our  great  dramatist  availed  himself  of  the  popular  notion 
on  the  subject,  warranted  by  "  Hackluyt's  Voyages,"  and  by  the 
translation  of  Pliny,  B.  v.,  ch.  8.,  where  "  the  Blemmii,  who  have 
no  heads,  but  mouth  and  eyes,  both  in  their  breasts,"  are  men 
tioned.  At  the  end  of  Bulwer's  work  is  an  unusually  complete 
index  of  the  contents  of  a  volume,  which  displays  a  great  deal  of 
curious  knowledge,  and  elaborately  illustrates  many  vulgar  opin 
ions  and  superstitions. 


BUTTES,  SIR  WILLIAM.  —  A  Booke  of  Epitaphes  made  on 
the  death  of  Sir  William  Buttes,  Knight,  who  deceased 
the  third  day  of  September,  Anno  1583.  —  Imprinted  at 
London  by  Henrie  Midleton.  4to.  28  leaves. 

We  notice  this  small  and  unique  volume,  not  for  any  intrinsic 
worth  it  possesses,  but  because  it  contains  several  specimens  of 
English  versification  by  men  whose  names  have  not  hitherto  found 
their  way  into  Ritson's  Bibl.  Poet,  or  into  any  other  production 
of  the  kind.  Of  the  subject  of  the  Epitaphs  we  know  nothing, 
unless  Sir  William  Buttes  were  descended  from  Dr.  Buttes,  Phy 
sician  to  Henry  VIII,  and  father  of  the  Dr.  Buttes  who  in  1599 
published  a  work  called  "  Dyet's  Dry  Dinner,"  more  singular  in 
its  title  than  meritorious  in  its  contents.  The  English  versifiers 
on  the  death  of  Sir  William  Buttes  are  his  relative  T.  Buttes, 
Henry  Gosnold,  Thomas  Corbold,  Samuel  Stalon,  and  Robert 
Lawes,  while  the  Latin  contributions  are  by  Richard  Harvey, 
William  Bourne,  Henry  Gosnold,  Francis  Burleigh,  and  Thomas 
Corbold.  In  none  of  these  can  we  find  a  line  that  is  worth  quot 
ing  ;  but  we  gather,  from  particular  expressions  and  allusions,  that 
Sir  William  Buttes  died  rich,  and  that  he  had  acquired  his  wealth 
by  mercantile  pursuits. 


CAMBRIDGE  JESTS.  —  Cambridge  Jests,  or  Witty  Alarums 
for  Melancholy  Spirits.     By  a  Lover  of  Ha,  Ha,  He.  — 


126  Bibliographical  Account  of 

London,  Printed  for  Samuel  Lowndes  &c.    1674.    12mo. 

76  leaves. 

This  collection  consists  of  the  usual  stock  of  such  merry  mis 
cellanies,  and  one  additional  story,  so  to  call  it,  which  shows  how 
little  people  were  acquainted,  even  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II., 
with  Shakspeare's  "  Merchant  of  Venice."  For  this  reason  only 
we  notice  "  Cambridge  Jests."  When  Lord  Lansdowne,  in  1701, 
made  Shylock  a  comic  character  and  a  modern  Israelite,  introduc 
ing  it  by  the  line, 

"  To  day  we  punish  a  stock-jobbing  Jew," 

the  original  had  been  entirely  forgotten  on  the  stage,  and  few 
people  knew  what  Shakspeare  had  really  written,  and  how  he  had 
drawn  the  character,  until  the  appearance  of  Rowe's  edition  of 
"  the  Works  of  Mr.  William  Shakespear  "  in  1 709.  The  incident 
of  the  pound  of  flesh  is  thus  told  in  "  Cambridge  Jests,"  even  the 
scene  having  been  transferred  from  Venice  to  Constantinople. 

"  In  the  City  of  Constantinople  a  certain  Christian  desired  to  borrow  of 
a  Jew  the  sum  of  five  hundred  Duckets.  The  Jew  lent  them  unto  him 
with  condition  that  for  the  use  of  the  money  he  shoiild,  at  the  end  of  the 
term,  give  him  two  ounces  of  his  flesh,  cut  off  in  some  one  of  his  members. 
The  day  of  payment  being  come,  the  Christian  repayed  the  five  hundred 
Duckets  to  the  Jew,  but  refused  to  give  him  any  part  of  his  flesh.  The 
Jew,  not  willing  to  lose  his  interest,  convented  the  Christian  before  Sultan 
Soliman,  Emperour  of  the  Turks,  who  having  heard  the  wicked  demand 
of  the  one,  and  the  answer  of  the  other,  commanded  a  Razor  to  be  brought 
and  to  be  given  to  the  Jew,  to  whom  he  said :  '  Because  thou  shalt  know 
that  justice  is  done  thee,  take  there  the  Razor,  and  cut  from  the  flesh  of 
the  Christian  two  ounces  which  thou  demandest;  but  take  heed  thou  cut 
neither  more  nor  less,  for  if  thou  dost,  thou  shalt  surely  die.'  The  Jew, 
holding  that  to  be  a  thing  impossible,  durst  not  adventure,  but  acquitted 
the  Christian  his  interest." 

It  seems  out  of  the  question  to  suppose  that,  if  Shakspeare's  play 
had  at  this  time  been  popularly  known,  the  incident  could  have 
been  thus  related  in  a  common  jest-book :  it  occurs  in  it  on  p. 
148.  Dogget,  as  most  people  are  aware,  performed  the  part  of 
Lord  Lansdowne's  Jew  in  1701,  in  the  dialect  of  an  Anglo-Ger 
man  Hebrew. 


OFngltslj  Ctteratnr*.  127 

CAMPION,  EDMUND.  —  A  true  reporte  of  the  death  &  mar- 
tyrdome  of  M.  Campion,  Jesuite  and  preiste,  &  M.  Slier- 
win  &  M.  Bryan,  preistes,  at  Tiborne  the  first  of  Decem 
ber  1581.     Obseruid  and  written  by  a  Catholike  preist, 
which  was  present  therat.    Wherunto  is  annexid  certayne 
verses  made  by  sundrie  persons.     B.  L.     4to.     26  leaves. 
This  title  is  followed  by  a  text  from  Apoca.  vii.,  under  the  sym 
bol  of  the  Society  of  Jesus ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  tract 
was  either  printed  abroad,  or  secretly,  in  this  country,  without  any 
printer's  name.  It  is  a  vindication  of  Campion,  Sherwin,  and  Bryan, 
and  an  attack  upon  "  Charke,  Hanmer,  Whitakers,  Fyld,  Keltrigh, 
Eliot,  kogging  Munday,  riming  Elderton  and  John  Nichols,  the 
disciple  of  bawdy  Bale,  all  worshipfull  writers  at  this  time  against 
Preistes  &  Jesuites."     After  detailing  the  circumstances  of  the 
execution,  at  which  Sir  Francis  Knowles,  Lord  Charles  Howard, 
Sir  Henry  Lee,  and  others  were  present,  "  a  caveat  to  the  reader 
touching  A.  M.  his  discovery  "  is  added,  which  supplies  some  in 
teresting  particulars  regarding  that  celebrated  pamphleteer,  poet, 
and  dramatist,  Anthony  Munday. 

It  asserts  that  he  "  first  was  a  stage  player  (no  doubt  a  calling 
of  some  creditt),  after,  an  aprentise,  which  tyme  he  well  served 
with  deceaving  of  his  master,  then  wandring  towards  Italy,  by  his 
owne  report  became  a  coosener  in  his  journey.  Comming  to  Rome 
in  his  short  abode  there  was  charitably  relieved,  but  never  admit 
ted  in  the  Seminary,  as  he  pleseth  to  lye  in  the  title  of  his  booke, 
and,  being  wery  of  well  doing,  returned  home  to  his  first  vomite 
again e.  I  omite  to  declare  how  this  scholler,  new  come  out  of 
Italy,  did  play  extempore  ;  those  gentlemen  and  others  whiche 
were  present  can  best  give  witnes  of  his  dexterity,  who,  being 
wery  of  his  folly,  hissed  him  from  his  stage.  Then,  being  therby 
discouraged,  he  set  forth  a  balet  against  playes,  but  yet  (O  con 
stant  youth)  he  now  beginnes  againe  to  ruffle  upon  the  stage.  I 
omit,  among  other  places,  his  behavior  in  Barbican  with  his  good 
mistres  and  mother,  from  whence  our  superintendent  might  fetch 
him  to  his  court,  were  it  not  for  love  (I  would  saye  slaunder)  to 
their  gospel.  Yet  I  thinke  it  not  amiss  to  remember  thee  of  this 
boyes  infelicitie  two  several  wayes  of  late  notorious." 


128  Bibliograpljkal  JUcotmt  of 

Hence  the  writer  (supposed  without  much  evidence  to  be  Rob 
ert  Parsons)  proceeds  to  notice  two  publications  by  Munday :  one 
upon  the  death  of  Everard  Haunce,  a  copy  of  which  was  sold 
among  Heber's  books,  and  the  other  his  tract  entitled  "  A  Dis- 
coverie  of  Edmond  Campion  and  his  Confederates,"  which  also 
includes  an  account  of  their  execution,  and  was  published  in  8vo 
by  Edward  White,  with  the  date  of  1582.  Munday  claimed  to 
have  been  very  instrumental,  not  only  in  the  detection,  but  in  the 
capture  of  Campion,  and  having  been  a  witness  at  his  trial,  was 
present  at  his  execution  for  the  purpose  of  confronting  him.  The 
latter  part  of  Munday's  tract  is  "  A  breefe  Discourse  concerning 
the  deathes  of  Edmond  Campion,  Jesuit,  Raphe  Shirwin  and 
Alexander  Brian,  on  1  Dec.  1581  "  ;  and  in  the  next  year  Munday 
wrote,  and  printed,  a  reply  to  the  publication  before  us.  (See 
MUNDAY,  post.} 

At  the  close  of  the  small  volume  in  our  hands  are  four  poems 
upon  Campion  and  his  fellow-sufferers.  The  first  contains  the  fol 
lowing  stanza  against  Munday  :  — 

"  The  witnesse  false,  Sledd,  Munday  &  the  rest, 
Which  had  your  slanders  noted  in  your  booke, 
Confesse  your  fault  beforehand;  it  were  best, 
Lest  God  do  find  it  written,  when  he  doth  looke 

In  dreadfull  doome  upon  the  soules  of  men: 

It  will  be  late  (alas)  to  mend  it  then." 

Elderton  excited  the  author's  wrath  by  ballads  he  had  pub 
lished,  in  the  usual  course  of  his  calling,  upon  the  execution  of 
Campion.  He  attacks  him  thus  :  — 

"  Fonde  Elderton,  call  in  thy  foolish  rime : 
Thy  scurile  balates  are  to  bad  to  sell: 
Let  good  men  rest,  and  mend  thy  self  in  time. 
Confesse  in  prose  thou  hast  not  meetred  well ; 
Or  if  thy  folly  can  not  choose  but  fayne, 
Write  alehouse  toys  —  blaspheme  not  in  thy  vain." 

No  ballad  by  Elderton  on  this  subject  has  come  down  to  us  :  he 
was  a  noted  writer  of  poems  upon  temporary  topics,  and  the 
laughing-stock  of  Thomas  Nash  and  other  younger  contemporaries  : 
he  had  been  a  player  as  early  as  1552,  (Kempe's  Loseley  MSS.  p. 
47,)  and  twenty  years  afterwards  we  find  him  at  the  head  of  a 


€ngl!0l)  f  iterator*.  129 

company  of  actors.  It  must  have  been  subsequently  to  this  date 
that  he  subsisted  mainly  by  "  ballading,"  though  some  of  his 
extant  productions  of  that  class  bear  an  earlier  date,  as,  for 
instance,  his  Epitaph  upon  Bishop  Jewell  in  1571.  His  "  Lamen 
tation  of  Follie,"  printed  by  Edward  Allde  without  date,  is  prob 
ably  still  older,  and,  from  expressions  it  contains,  may  be  assigned 
to  the  very  commencement  of  the  rei^n  of  Elizabeth.l 


CAP  AND  THE  HEAD.  — A  Pleasaunt  Dialogue  or  disputa 
tion  betweene  the   Cap  and  the  Head.  —  Imprinted  at 
London   by  Henry  Denham   for   Lucas    Harrison   &c. 
Anno  1564.     Novembris  11.     B.  L.     12mo.     23  leaves. 
This  highly  amusing  and  curious  tract  is  anonymous,  and  it  was 
so  popular  that  it  came  to  a  second  edition  very  early  in  1565   a 
copy  bearing  the  date  of  19th  Feb.  in  that  year  being  known,  and 
preserved  in  the  library  at  Bridgewater  House.     It  consists  en 
tirely  of  a  conversation  between  a  Cap  and  a  Head  that  was  about 
to  put  it  on,  the  former  remonstrating  against  the  fantastic  fash 
ions  of  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  illustrating 
very  minutely,  and  entertainingly,  many  of  the  prevailing  peculiar* 
ities  in  attire,  but  especially  in  the  ornaments  and  coverings  for  the 
head.     It  opens  as  follows  :  — 

i  It  was  reprinted  by  the  Percy  Society  in  1840,  with  a  more  interest 
ing,  but  not  more  curious  ballad,  entitled  "The  Panges  of  Love  and 
Lover's  Fittes,"  which  is  quoted  by  Shakspeare  in  "Twelfth  Night,"  and 
in  "  Romeo  and  Juliet."  It  is  also  mentioned  in  the  old  play,  »  The  Tri 
umphs  of  Love  and  Fortune,"  1589,  and  in  the  interlude  of  "  The  Trial 
of  Treasure,"  1567.  We  quote  a  single  stanza  relating  to  Troilus  and 
Cressidac  — 

"  Knowe  ye  not  how  Troylus 
Languished,  and  lost  his  joye, 
With  flttes  and  fevers  mervailous, 
For  Cressida  that  dwelt  in  Troye  ? 
Tyll  pytie  planted  in  hir  brest, 

Ladie!  Ladie ! 
To  slepe  with  him  and  graunt  him  rest, 

My  deare  Ladie  !  " 
VOL.  I.  Q 


130  Bibliographical  Account  of 

"  The  Cap.  0,  how  undiscretely  doth  Fortune  deale  with  many  in  this 
world !  cursed  be  the  time  that  ever  I  was  appoynted  to  cover  thee. 

"  The  Head.  What  the  Divel  aylest  thou  ?  thou  doest  nothing  now  a 
dayes  but  murmure  and  grudge. 

"The  Cap.  I  would  the  Wolle  that  I  was  made  of  and  the  Sheepe  that 
bare  it  had  been  devoured  wyth  Dogges,  or  that  it  had  beene  burned  in 
the  filthy  fyngers  of  the  ilfavoured  olde  queane  that  spunne  it. 

"The  Head.  Why,  what  meanest  thou  by  this  Cursing?  I  never  did 
thee  any  harme." 

Afterwards  the  Cap  enters  into  particulars  of  his  grievances ; 
and  this  and  other  passages  would  have  afforded  amusing  illustra 
tions  to  the  author  of  the  articles  on  ancient  head-dresses  in  Vol. 
xxiv.  of  the  Arehaeologia :  — 

"The  Cap.  Who  is  able  to  beare  suche  injurye  at  thy  hande?  thou  art 
never  contented  to  weare  me  after  one  fashion ;  but  one  while  thou  wearest 
me  like  a  Garlande;  by  and  by  lyke  a  Steeple;  another  whyle  a  Barber's 
Bason;  anone  after  lyke  a  Boll  whelmed  upsyde  downe;  sometyme  lyke 
aKoyster;  sometime  lyke  a  Souldiour,  and  sometime  like  an  Antique; 
sometyme  plited,  and  anone  after  unplited;  and  not  being  contented  with 
that,  thou  byndest  mee  wyth  garishe  bandes,  one  while  of  one  colour,  and 
another  while  of  an  other,  and  sometyme  wyth  many  coloures  at  once,  as 
if  I  were  mad:  howe  is  it  possible  to  suffer  so  many  chaunges?  " 

The  Cap  is  sometimes  very  severe  and  satirical  in  his  cen 
sures  :  — 

"  For  how  many  are  paynted  wyth  Diademe  for  Saincts,  that  in  time  of 
their  lyfe  have  bene  false  Traytoures  to  their  King  and  Countrye?  howe 
many  crowned  wyth  Golde,  that  haue  better  deserved  to  be  crowned  with 
perpetuall  shame  ?  how  many  paynted  wyth  precious  Myters  that,  if  their 
lives  were  wel  examined,  might  more  worthily  weare  an  infamous  Pyllory 
paper?  so  that  their  head  attyre  honoureth  not  them,  but  they  rather  dis 
honour  their  attyre:  whereby  thou  maist  perceave  that  it  is  not  possyble 
for  me  to  hyde  the  faultes  of  the  understanding,  as  I  hyde  the  scurfe  of 
thy  scalde  Pate." 

The  Cap  further  complains  that  he  is  sometimes  ridiculously 
"stuck  with  Ostridge,  Cranes,  Parrats,  Bittons,  Cockes  and 
Capons  feathers,"  signifying  nothing  but  the  lightness  of  the 
brain  of  the  wearer.  At  last  Cap  and  Head  go  out  into  the  street 
together,  and  Cap  questions  Head,  very  closely  why  he  pulls  him 
off  so  frequently  to  salute  different  people  as  they  pass. 


Cfarlg  (fnglislj  £itcrature.  131 

"The  Cap.  *  *  *  But  tell  me  why  diddest  thou  put  me  of  to  him  that 
passed  by? 

"  The  Head.  Wouldest  thou  not  have  me  shew  obeyscence  to  him  ?  looke 
what  a  fayre  chayne  he  hath  on. 

"  The  Cap.  Then  madest  thou  curtesy  to  hys  chayne,  and  not  to  him. 

"  The  Head.  Nay,  I  did  it  to  him  bycause  of  hys  chaine. 

"  The  Cop.  What  is  hee. 

"  The  Head.  I  can  not  tell ;  but  well  I  wote  he  hath  a  fayre  chayne. 

"  The  Cap.  But  if  he  had  had  none,  thou  wouldest  have  let  him  passe. 

"The  Head.  Yea:  but  sawest  thou  not,  when  hee  perceaved  that  I  made 
no  accoumpte  of  hym,  howe  he  opened  his  Cloake  of  purpose  that  I 
might  see  his  chayne?  and  then,  thou  knowest,  I  can  doe  no  lesse." 

This  leads  to  various  shrewd  remarks  upon  persons  of  different 
stations  and  professions  :  one  of  the  persons  they  pass  is  a  Cath 
olic  bishop,  and  in  the  course  of  the  conversation  the  Head  tells 
an  anecdote  how  he  escaped  being  considered  a  heretic.  Through 
out  the  discussion  the  Cap  has  by  far  the  best  of  the  "  disputa 
tion,"  which  terminates  in  this  manner  :  — 

"  The  Head.  I  cannot  deny  but  thou  haste  spoken  reason,  but  bycause  I 
will  not  seeme  to  bee  selfe  willed,  I  minde  to  frame  myselfe  according  to 
the  time  and  company ;  and  therfore  beare  with  mee  tyll  I  haue  money 
to  bye  a  new  Cap,  at  which  time  I  minde  to  let  thee  rest  in  quiet. 

"The  Cap.  Well,  syth  it  wyll  be  no  better,  I  minde  no  more  to  trouble 
thee;  but  wyll  arme  my  selfe  paciently  to  beare  all  these  Injuries,  in  hope 
that  a  time  will  come  that  thou  shalte  both  remember  my  wordes  and  I 
also  shall  bee  in  quiet:  therefore,  doe  what  thou  wilte,  I  wyll  say  no  more." 

The  last  leaf  is  occupied  only  by  the  printer's  colophon,  with 
the  same  date  as  on  the  title-page. 


CAREW,  RICHARD.  —  Godfrey  of  Bulloigne  or  the  Recou- 
erie  of  Hierusalem.  An  heroicall  poeme  written  in 
Italian  by  Sieg.  Torquato  Tasso  and  translated  into 
English  by  R.  C.  Esquire.  And  now  the  first  part  con 
taining  flue  Cantos  imprinted  in  both  Languages. 

London,  Imprinted  by  John  Windet  for  Thomas  Man. 
1594.     4to.     120  leaves. 

This  very  faithful  version  was  made   by  Richard  Carew  of 


132  JJibliograpIjtcal  Account  of 

Anthony,  author  of  the  "  Survey  of  Cornwall."  There  are  not 
two  editions  in  1594,  but  the  title-pages  of  some  copies  differ  in 
the  imprint,  purporting  to  have  been  "  printed  by  John  Windet 
for  Christopher  Hunt  of  Exceter " ;  and  an  address,  subscribed 
C.  H.,  informs  the  reader  that  the  MS.  had  got  abroad  without 
Carew's  knowledge,  and  that,  after  five  cantos  had  been  printed, 
he  forbade  the  publication  of  more,  at  least  for  the  present.  The 
address  to  this  copy,  instead  of  being  dated,  as  usual  with  others  we 
have  seen,  "  From  Exceter  the  last  of  Februarie  1594,"  is  "  From 
Exceter  the  last  of  Februarie  1593."  In  one  case,  no  doubt,  the 
commencement  of  the  year  was  calculated  from  1st  January,  and 
in  the  other  from  25th  March. 

As  Fairefax  in  1600  (see  FAIREFAX,  post)  availed  himself  of 
Carew's  version,  especially  in  the  first  draught  of  the  first  stanza 
of  his  translation,  without  'much  improving  upon  it,  we  may  sub 
join  it  here  for  the  sake  of  comparison.  Carew  renders  it,  — 

"  I  sing  the  godly  armes  and  that  Chieftaine, 
Who  great  sepulchre  of  our  Lord  did  free; 
Much  with  his  hande,  much  wrought  he  with  his  braine ; 
Much  in  his  glorious  conquest  suffred  hee. 
And  hell  in  vain  it  selfe  opposde,  in  vaine 
The  mixed  troops,  Asian  and  Libick,  flee 

To  armes;  for  heaven  him  favour'd,  and  he  drew 

To  sacred  ensignes  his  straid  mates  anew." 

Perhaps  one  reason  why  Fairefax  afterwards  made  changes  in 
his  first  stanza  was,  that  he  was  accused  of  having  copied  Carew. 
Carew's  translation  was  never  completed,  and,  as  far  as  it  goes,  it 
is  rather  remarkable  for  fidelity  than  for  freedom :  his  versification 
is  always  regular,  and  in  the  Italian  form  of  stanza.  If  Carew 
were  too  faithful,  certainly  Fairefax  was  too  free. 


CAREW,  RICHARD.  —  A  Herrings  Tayle  :  Contayning  a 
Poeticall  fiction  of  diuers  matters  worthie  the  reading.  — 
At  London  Printed  for  Matthew  Lownes.  1598.  4to. 
18  leaves. 


(Engltfilj  Citerature.  133 

Oil  the  authority  of  Guillim's  Heraldry,  p.  154,  edit.  1610,  it 
has  been  supposed  that  this  rhyming  rigmarole,  for  it  is  nothing 
better,  was  written  by  Richard  Carew  of  Anthony,  the  author  of 
the  preceding  work,  and  of  the   "  Survey  of  Cornwall,"  1602. 
The  internal  evidence  is  all  the  other  way ;  for,  allowing  much 
for  discursiveness   and   intended  obscurity,  it  is  clear  that  the 
writer  knew  nothing  of  metre,  and  his  meaning,  when  discovera 
ble,  is  anything  but  such  as  would  proceed  from  a  man  of  good 
sense,  elegant  mind,  and  refined  attainments.     We  think,  there 
fore,  that  Guillim,  who  was  himself  no  good  judge  of  such  mat 
ters,  was  misinformed  :  in  deference,  however,  to  his  statement  we 
have  placed  the  tract  under  Carew's  name.     That  the  real  writer, 
whoever  he  may  have  been,  was  a  man  of  some  classical  learn 
ing,  the  many  allusions  to  ancient  history  and  mythology  suffi 
ciently  establish ;  but  even  in  this  respect  the  piece  is  certainly  not 
worthy  of  Carew,  and  it  is  very  properly  not  assigned  to  him  in 
either  edition  of  Lowndes'  Bibl.  Man.,  while  Fry,  in  his  Bibl. 
Mem.,  1816,  4to,  p.  156,  though  he  gives  the  writer  far  more  than 
deserved  credit,  does  not  pretend  to  have  ascertained  who  he  was. 
It  has  been  said  that  an  allegory  was  intended,  and  that  "  A  Her 
ring's  Tayle  "  was  a  sort  of  satire  upon  two  eminent  personages 
of  the  time ;   but  we  can  discern  nothing  of  the  kind,  although 
somebody  may  possibly  have  been  personified  under  the  figure  of 
a  snail  in  its  futile  endeavor  to  climb.     That  the   author  did  not 
understand  the  commonest  rules  of  metre,  as  then  practised  by 
Carew  himself  and  so  many  great  poets,  we  may  prove  by  the  first 
six  miserably  lame  lines  :  — 

"  I  sing  the  strange  adventures  of  the  bardie  Snayle 
Who  durst  (unlikely  match)  the  weathercock  assay le: 
A  bold  attempt,  at  first  by  fortune  flattered 
With  boote,  but  at  the  last  to  bale  abandoned. 
Helpe,  sportfull  Muse,  to  tune  my  gander-keaking  quill, 
And  with  inck  blotles  of  sad  merriments  it  fill."  &c. 
No  person  with  the  slightest  ear  for  rhythm  could  possibly  have 
produced  such  lines,  and  many  others  equally  lamentable ;  yet  the 
writer,  if  we  understand  him,  professes  admiration  for  Spenser 
and  Sidney,  the  latter  by  his  name  and  the  former  as  the  "  Muses 
despencier  " :  — 


184  Bibliographical  Account  of 

"  But  neither  can  I  tell,  ne  can  I  stay  to  tell 
This  pallace  architecture,  where  perfections  dwell. 
Who  list  such  know,  let' him  Muses  despencier  reede, 
Or  thee  whom  England  sole  did  since  the  Conquest  breed 
To  conquer  ignorance,  Sidney,  like  whom  endite 
Euen  Plato  would,  as  Jove  (they  say)  like  Plato  write." 

We  conjecture  that  by  Muses  despencier  (printed  in  Italics  in 
the  original)  the  author  of  "  The  Faery' Queene  "  must  have  been 
intended,  but  the  pun  is  as  bad  as  the  poetry,  and  we  can  trace 
no  other  allusion  to  any  writer  of  the  period.  If  the  riddle  of 
the  whole  piece  were  ever  worth  solving,  we  are  not  in  a  condi 
tion  to  explain  it  now,  and  such  lines  as  those  that  follow  could 
surely  never  have  been  considered  tolerable  :  — 

"  For  when  the  god  of  puffes,  great  master  of  the  ayre, 
Saw  the  base  Snayle  of  his  sonnes  spoyles  a  Trophee  reare, 
Choler  enflam'd  his  heart,  revenge  tickled  his  fist, 
Disdaine  wrinckled  his  face  to  smile  of  little  list, 
And  up  his  throte  bole  staires  climbd  words  of  threatening, 
Which  to  effects  of  deedes  thus  wise  he  sought  to  bring. 
Poste  through  his  large  Dominions  are  writs  out  sent 
To  warne  his  windie  vassals  to  a  parliament: 
So  whizzing,  blustring,  peeping,  whisking,*there  came  in 
First  lithie  Eurus  with  his  parchie  rivild  skin; 
Next  Boreas  armd  in  ice,"  &c. 

Some  humor  seems  here  to  have  been  meditated,  but  most 
ineffectually,  as  far  as  moderns  are  concerned  ;  and  when,  in  his 
last  words,  the  author  tells  us  that  his  "  pen  is  worne  to  the 
stumpe,"it  is  much  in  the  same  condition  as  the  reader's  patience. 


CARRE,  JOHN.  —  A  Larume  Belle  for  London,  with  a 
caueat  or  warning  to  England :  also  a  pitiful  complaint 
of  the  penitente  synner,  newlie  set  forthe  by  Ihon  Carre, 
Citizein  of  London.  —  Imprinted  at  London  by  Henry 
Kirckham  at  the  signe  of  the  blacke  Boie  at  the  little 
North  doore  of  Poules.  1573.  8vo.  B.  L.  11  leaves. 

In  this  small   unique  tract  we  introduce  two  new  names  into 


p  (SnglisI)  Citcratur*.  135 

the  annals  of  our  popular  poetical  literature,  —  John  Carre,  the 
editor  of  the  book,  and  W.  Phillippes,  who  had  a  share  in  its  com 
position.  The  main  subject  is  the  pride,  vanity,  and  general  vices 
of  the  metropolis,  which  they  attack  in  a  strongly  puritanical  spirit, 
warning  the  inhabitants  to  repent,  ere  they  be  overwhelmed  by 
the  judgments  of  heaven.  We  know  nothing  of  the  writer  beyond 
the  fact  stated  upon  the  title-page,  that,  whatever  his  coadjutor 
Phillippes  may  have  been,  Carre  was  free  of  the  city :  a  John 
Phillips  subsequently  wrote  upon  the  death  of  Sir  P.  Sidney  and 
other  topics,  and  his  religious  opinions  were  similar  to  those  of  his 
namesake. 

The  first  poem  subscribed  "  Finis  qd  Ihon  Carre,"  begins  im 
mediately  after  the  title-page, — 

"  For  thee,  0  London !  I  lament, 

And  wring  my  hands  with  mourning  chere, 
Because  that  thou  will  not  repent, 

Sevng  thy  destruction  draweth  nere. 
If  it  be  true,  as  scriptures  tell, 
Thy  sinnes  will  sincke  thee  doune  to  hell. 

"  The  vices  which  in  thee  are  used 

To[o]  tedious  are  for  me  to  tell: 
Thy  noble  fame  is  sore  abused 

By  those  whiche  in  thee  now  doe  dwell: 
Whereby  I  see  thy  great  decaie, 
That  God  doth  threaten  thee  eche  daie." 

He  observes  the  same  measure  through  sixteen  stanzas,  espe 
cially  attacking  pride,  "  a  weed  that  it  is  no  boot  to  tread  down, 
since  it  must  be  plucked  up  by  the  root :  "  — 

"  So  likewise  pride  in  London  now 

Doeth  florishe  in  suche  goodly  sorte, 
That  thei  invent  whiche  waie  and  how 

Thereby  augmented  it  might  be; 
And  nothyng  doe  regarde  at  all 
That  pride  in  the  ende  will  have  a  fall." 

Here  the  defective  rhyme  "sorte"  and  "be"  shows  a  clear 
misprint,  which  may  be  easily  remedied  if  we  read  "in  such  high 
degree  "  for  "  in  such  goodly  sort."  We  need  hardly  mention  that 
Carre  instances  the  fate  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  but  with  more 


136  Bibliographical  Account  of 

novelty  he  goes  on  to  refer  to  the  destruction  of  Alexandria, 
Nineveh,  Jerusalem,  and  even  Troy,  as  warnings  to  London  :  he 
exclaims,  — 

"  0  London !  thou  hast  cause  to  weepe, 

For  to  consider  thine  estate: 
Thou  art  in  synne  now  drouude  so  deepe, 

That  from  hell  mouthe  thou  canst  not  scape : 
Except  repentance  thou  embrace, 
At  Gods  hande  thou  shalt  finde  no  grace." 

In  his  last  stanza  he  again  reminds  his  fellow-citizens  that 
"  pride  must  have  a  fall,"  after  which  Phillippes  takes  up  the  song 
to  a  very  similar  tune,  but  in  a  different  measure  —  fourteen- 
syllable  lines,  divided  in  order  to  come  into  the  small  page.  He 
entitles  his  poem  "  A  Caveat  or  warning  to  Englande,"  and  it 
begins  thus  tautologously  :  — 

"  The  present  plagues  that  now  we  fele 

our  joy es  doeth  muche  encroche, 
And  feare  of  forrein  foes  besides 
who  seeke  for  to  approche 

"  To  worke  annoye  to  Britaine  soile, 

but  Jove  be  thankte  therefore, 
That  hath  dislodgde  the  treason  now 
which  Curia  kept  in  store." 

Here  the  substitution  of  Jove  for  the  name  of  the  Creator,  and 
the  use  of  the  word  Curia,  in  order,  perhaps,  to  avoid  more  par 
ticular  and  personal  allusion,  are  remarkable.  Thence,  affecting 
a  classical  style,  he  talks  of  Iris  and  Rhamnusius,  and  diverges  to 
a  wolf  "  in  lambs  array,"  finally  arriving  at  a  horticultural  figure, 
representing  Queen  Elizabeth  as  the  gardener  :  — 

"  The  gardner  hath  her  sickle  sharpte  1 

to  plucke  up  all  suche  seedes 
As  to  the  eye  do  fruitfull  seme, 
and  yet  are  stincking  weedes; 

"  Whose  barrein  braunche  as  fertile  semde, 
to  those  that  simple  were, 

1  The  figure,  resembling  a  garden  to  a  kingdom,  will  bring  to  mind  A. 
III.  sc.  4,  of  Shakspeare's  "  Kichard  II." 


137 

In  eche  respect,  as  did  the  tree 
that  yerely  fruict  did  beare. 

"  But  he  whiche  first  did  plant  those  trees 

in  this  our  Englishe  lande, 
And  did  assigne  the  Gardener,  she 
to  take  the  charge  in  hande, 

"  Hath  showne  her  Grace  where  she  shall  graft, 

and  where  that  she  shall  roote, 
According  as  affection  serves 
to  suche  as  yelde  no  fruite." 

He  advises  the  Queen  to  use  her  sickle  in  time  "to  crop  such 
imps,"  and  "  not  to  stay  as  erst  she  did,"  until  they  had  clomb  too 
high.  He,  not  very  charitably,  thus  invokes  her  :  — 

"Renowned  Prince,  even  so  I  crave, 

foresee  thy  subjectes  woes, 
And  yelde  revenge  for  such  as  wishe 
thy  Croune  to  forrein  foes ;  " 

and  at  last  addresses  himself  to  the  divine  power  by  his  proper 
appellation.  While  praying  for  the  Queen,  he  does  not  forget 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  London  ;  from  whence  we  may, 
perhaps,  infer  that  Phillippes  also  was  a  member  of  the  corpo 
ration. 

"And  to  this  citie  graunt  (0  God!) 

lorde  Maior  and  his  fraternitie 
Pegresse  nothyng  from  Princes  will, 
but  joyne  as  one  in  unitie. 

"  God  prosper  her!  God  length  her  raigne  ! 

from  harmes  her  grace  God  save ! 
Poore  Phillippes  he  with  gushyng  teares 
doth  thus  desire  to  have. 

Finis,  per  W.  Phillippes/' 

So,  lest  his  name  should  be  passed  over  in  the  text,  he  adds  it 
immediately  afterwards  at  the  conclusion.  To  these  two  produc 
tions  is  added  an  anonymous  third,  in  a  different  form  and  meas 
ure,  but  otherwise  possessing  no  features  calling  for  observation. 


138  UibliograpljUal  3Urount  of 

CARTWKIGHT,  JOHX.  —  The  Preachers  Travels.     Wherein 
is  set  downe  a  true  Ipurnall  to  the  confines  of  the  East 
Indies,  through  the  great  Countreyes  of  Syria,  Mesopo 
tamia  &c.     With   the  Authors  return e   by  the  way  of 
Persia,  Susiana,  &c.     Containing  a  full  survew  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Persia,  &c.      Also  a  true  relation  of  Sir 
Anthonie  Sherley's  entertainment  there :  &c.     With  the 
description  of  a  Port  in  the  Persian  gulf  commodious 
for  our  East  Indian  Merchants  &c.     Penned  by  I.  C. 
sometimes  student  in  Magdalen  College  in  Oxford. — 
London  Printed  for  Thomas  Thorppe,  and  are  to  bee 
sold  by  Walter  Burre.     1611.     4to.     56  leaves. 
The  author  does  not  state  his  reason  for  undertaking  this  long 
and  perilous  journey,  the  account  of  which  is  dedicated  to  Sir 
Thomas  Hunt  (a  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  Surrey),  "from  mine 
House  in    Southwarke,  this  18  of  October.  Anno  Dom.  1611." 
On  the  next  page  he  tells  the  "gentle  Reader"  that  he  had 
intended  to  have  added  some  observations  to  show  the  great  prob 
ability  of  a  Northwest  Passage,  but  he  had  delayed  it,  until  he 
had  ascertained  whether  the  then  current  news  were  true  that  it 
had  been  discovered. 

Cartwright  narrates  at  considerable  length  the  chief  incidents 
of  his  travels  through  the  various  countries  named  on  his  title- 
page,  and,  on  p.  67,  adverts  to  Sir  Anthony  Sherley,  and  his  mis 
sion  to  Persia,  to  stir  the  sovereign  up  against  the  Turks.  He 
admits  that  Robert  Sherley  was  left  in  Persia  by  his  brother  as  a 
sort  of  pledge,  and  bears  witness  to  the  great  favor  in  which  he 
maintained  himself  in  the  court  at  Ispahan.  The  following  is  a 
remarkable  allusion  to  the  play,  by  Day,  Rowley,  and  Wilkins, 
called  "  The  Travels  of  three  English  Brothers,"  often  acted,  and 
printed  in  1607,  about  four  years  before  Cartwright's  return  to 
England.  "  And  farther,  the  King,  to  manifest  his  love,  gave  him 
(Robert  Sherley)  out  of  his  Seraglion  in  marriage  a  Circassian 
lady  of  great  esteeme  and  regard.  But  that  he  should  have  a  child 
in  Persia,  and  that  the  King  (a  professed  enemie  to  the  name 
of  our  blessed  Saviour)  should  be  the  God-father,  this  certainely 


(Earlg  (KngltsI)  £ihrature.  139 

is  more  fit  for  a  Stage,  for  the  common  people  to  wonder  at,  then 
for  any  mans  private  studies." 

It  was  on  the  author's  return  that  he  went  to  Mosul  and  sur 
veyed  the  neighboring  remains  of  Nineveh.  He  says,  and  the 
passage  in  our  day  is  curious,  —  "  It  is  agreed  by  all  prophane 
writers,  and  confirmed  by  the  Scriptures,  that  this  cittie  exceeded 
all  other  citties  in  circuit  and  answerable  magnificence.  For  it 
seems  by  the  ruinous  foundation  (which  I  thoroughly  viewed)  that 
it  was  built  with  foure  sides,  but  not  equall  or  square  ;  for  the  two 
longer  sides  had  each  of  them  (as  we  gesse)  an  hundreth  and 
fifty  furlongs ;  the  two  shorter  sides  ninty  furlongs,  which  amounteth 
to  foure  hundred  and  eighty  furlongs  of  ground,  which  makes  three 
score  miles,  accounting  eight  furlongs  to  an  Italian  mile."  Whether 
this  statement  and  calculation  accords  with  modern  measurements 
and  computations  we  know  not,  but  it  is  very  possible  that  250  years 
ago  more  of  the  proportions  of  Nineveh  could  be  ascertained  than 
at  present.  The  practice  of  conveying  goods  and  passengers 
down  the  Tigris  upon  air-filled  goat-skins  prevailed  then  as  now, 
for  Cartwright  tells  us,  — 

"  From  the  Island  of  Eden  we  returned  to  Mosul,  we  staied  there  eight 
daies,  and  so  went  down  the  river  Tigris  to  Bagdat,  or  New  Babilon,  being 
carried  not  on  boat,  as  down  the  river  Euphrates,  but  upon  certaine  Za- 
taires  or  rafts,  borne  upon  goates  skins  blowne  full  of  winde  like  bladders* 
Which  rafts  they  sell  at  Bagdat  for  fire,  and  carry  their  skins  againe 
home  upon  Asses  by  land,  to  make  other  voyages  down  the  said  river." 

The  above,  as  might  be  expected,  exactly  accords  with  the  pres 
ent  practice.  The  author  is  here  and  there  too  tedious  and 
minute,  while  in  other  places  he  is  too  brief  and  general  in  his 
descriptions.  On  the  whole,  his  book  is  rather  a  dull  one,  but 
there  is  less  on  the  subject  of  religion  than  we  should  have  looked 
for  in  "  The  Preacher's  Travels."  The  work  is  not  especially 
rare,  but  it  touches  some  points  not  adverted  to  by  other  writers. 


CAUMPEDEN,  HUGH.  —  The  History  of  Kyng  Boccus  and 
Sydracke  how  he  confounded  his  lerned  men  and  in  the 
syght  of  them  dronke  strong  venym  in  the  Name  of 


140  Uibltograpljtcal  Account  of 

the  Trinite  and  dyd  him  no  hurt.  Also  his  dyuynyte 
that  he  lerned  of  the  Boke  of  Noe.  Also  his  profycye 
that  he  had  by  Reuelacyon  of  the  Aungell.  Also  the 
aunsweris  to  the  questions  of  wisdome  both  morall  and 
naturall  with  much  worldly  wysdome  contayned  in  num 
ber  ccclxij.  Translated  by  Hugo  of  Caumpeden  out  of 
Frenche  in  to  Englisshe.  —  [Colophon]  Thus  endeth  the 
hystory  and  questyos  of  kynge  Boccus  and  Sydracke.  — 
Prynted  at  London  by  Thomas  Godfray.  At  the  coste 
and  charge  of  dan  Robert  Saltwode  moke  of  saynt  Aus 
tens  at  Canterbury.  Cum  priuilegio  regali. 

Warton  (H.  E.  P.  II.  408,  edit.  8vo),  Dibdin  (Typ.  Ant.  III. 
65),  and  others,  have  inconsiderately  given  1510  as  the  date  when 
this  religious  romance  was  printed,  while  the  fact  is  that  God- 
fray,  whose  name  it  bears  in  the  colophon,  did  not  begin  to 
employ  a  press  until  1522  :  the  type  serves  also  to  show  that  it 
was  similar  to  that  he  used  for  his  Chaucer  in  1532. 

There  is  a  confusion  in  the  title-page  which  has  sometimes  mis 
led  those  who  have  spoken  of  the  work  without  reading  it,  for  it 
was  not  Kyng  Boccus  who  "  confounded  his  learned  men,"  but 
Sydracke  ;  and  it  was  Sydracke  who  drank  the  poison  which,  by  the 
blessing  of  the  Trinity,  did  him  no  injury  :  Sydracke  too,  of  whose 
origin  little  or  nothing  is  said,  answered  so  satisfactorily  the  362 
questions  in  divinity,  morality,  natural  history,  &c.,  put  to  him  by 
King  Boccus.  This  he  accomplished  by  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  addition  to  the  conversion  of  all  India  to  Christianity, 
although  it  afterwards  relapsed  to  its  ancient  idolatry.  Warton 
quotes  from  a  MS.  (Laud.  G.  57)  which  materially  differs  from  the 
printed  copy,  to  which  we  have  confined  ourselves.  It  thus 

opens : — 

"  Men  may  fynde  in  olde  bokys, 
Who  so  therin  lokys, 
Actes  worthy  of  memory 
Full  of  knowledge  and  mystery; 
Wherof  I  shall  shew  a  lytell  jeste 
That  be  fell  ons  in  the  Eest. 


Citcrature.  141 

"  Ther  was  a  Kynge  that  Boccus  hyght, 
And  was  a  man  of  moche  myght: 
His  land  lay  by  the  greate  ynde 
Bactorye  hyght  it  as  we  fynde, 
After  the  tyme  of  Noe  even 
Eyght  hundred  yere  fourty  and  seuen. 
The  Kynge  Boccus  hym  be  thought 
That  he  wolde  haue  a  cytye  wrought, 
His  enmyes  ther  with  to  fere 
And  agayn  them  to  mayntayne  his  were. 
Chefly  for  a  kynge  that  was  his  foo 
That  moche  of  ynde  longed  vnto; 
His  name  was  Garaab :  the  Kynge 
Boccus  tho  purueyed  all  thynge 
And  shortly  a  towre  began  he : 
There  he  wolde  make  a  cytye, 
And  was  ryght  in  the  incomynge 
Of  Garabys  lande  the  Kynge." 

By  "  Garaby's  land  "  we  are,  perhaps,  to  understand  Araby ; 
but  the  author's  chronology  is  a  little  defective,  since  he  makes 
all  that  he  relates  occur  only  847  years  after  the  time  of  Noah. 
Boccus  began  his  tower,  but  every  night  what  he  had  done  in  the 
day  was  demolished,  and  "  foure  score  and  ix  maysters,"  whom  he 
consulted,  could  not  discover  the  cause.  He  casts  them  all  into 
prison  and  sends  for  Sydracke,  an  old  man  who  professes  to  be 
able  to  carry  out  the  completion  of  the  tower.  He  converts  Boc 
cus  to  the  true  faith  by  showing  him  "  the  umbre  of  the  Trinity  " 
in  a  vessel  of  water  ;  but  as  his  people  are  thereby  enraged,  they 
insist  that  Sydracke  shall  drink  "  stronge  venym  " :  he  consents  to 
do  so,  and  "  it  dyd  him  no  hurt."  Then  follow  the  362  questions 
which  Boccus  proposes  to  Sydracke,  and  the  answers  to  them  open 
the  King's  mind  to  the  whole  history  of  man's  creation,  and  to  the 
mystery  of  his  redemption.  Some  of  the  doubts  suggested  by 
Boccus  are  only  upon  points  of  natural  philosophy,  as  ques 
tion  59, — 

"  May  eny  woman  here  mo 
Chyldren  in  her  at  onys  than  two?  " 

and  question  74,  — 

"  Why  are  some  men  blake  in  towne, 
Some  whyt  and  some  browne?  " 


142  Bibliograpljtcal  Account  of 

Other  questions  regard  music  and  the  sciences,  as, — 

"  The  fyrst  instrument  who  made  it, 
And  how  came  it  in  his  wyt?  " 

to  which  Sydracke's  answer  is  worth  giving  for  its  true  poetry,  in 
conception  more  than  in  words :  — 

"  Of  the  chyldren  of  Noe 
Japhet,  the  yongest  of  the  thre, 
He  contryved  it,  and  wrought 
As  God  it  sent  in  his  thought: 
And  of  the  sound  he  it  toke 
Of  trees  that  the  wynde  shoke; 
And  also  of  waters  soune 
That  ran  harde  from  hylles  doune. 
Some  soune  was  lowe  and  some  hye, 
And  therof  found  he  melody. 
An  instrument  he  made  anone 
That  melody  to  worke  upon." 

We  cannot  at  all  agree  with  Warton  that  there  is  "  no  sort  of 
elegance  in  the  diction,"  when  we  read  a  passage  like  the  above. 
Question  207  reads  like  a  puzzler,  but  Sydracke  answers  it  in 
terms  that  would  have  not  been  at  all  relished  in  the  time  of  the 
Stuarts  :  the  question  is,  — 

"  Whether  is  hyer,  as  thou  doyst  undarstand, 
The  Kynge,  or  the  lawe  of  the  lande?  " 

To  which  the  sage  replies,  — 

"  If  the  Kynge  do  agayne  the  lawe, 
Lawe  shal  hym  deme  with  skyl  and  ryght: 
Than  is  the  lawe  above  his  myght, 
And  breke  he  the  lawe  in  eny  thyng, 
He  is  not  worthy  to  be  kynge." 

Afterwards  the  questions  again  become  religious  and  polemical, 
as  to  whether  Christ's  disciples  could  work  miracles ;  when  Christ 
shall  come  to  redeem  the  world,  &c.  ?  and  under  the  last  answer 
to  question  362,  we  read  "  The  ende  of  the  hystory."  Here  it  is 
related  that  Boccus  completed  the  tower  in  the  name  of  the 
Trinity  ;  that  Garaab  submitted  and  was  converted,  but  that 
after  the  deaths  of  Boccus  and  Sydracke  all  went  wrong  again, 
and  the  people  of  India  reverted  to  their  old  pagan  faith  and 
worship.  At  the  close, "  Hughe  of  Caumpeden  "  claims  the  whole 


ffwjlislj  Citrrature,  143 

as  liis  translation  ;  but,  as  far  as  English  is  concerned,  it  does  not 
read  as  if  the  materials  had  been  derived  from  any  foreign 
source.  Dibdin  speaks  of  an  "  Epilogue,"  but  there  is  nothing  so 
called  by  the  writer,  and  the  word  "  Finis  "  precedes  the  colophon. 
This  romance  is  not  noticed  by  Ellis  in  his  "  Specimens." 


CENTURION.  —  The  valiant  and  most  laudable  fight  per 
formed  in  the  Straights,  by  the  Centurion  of  London, 
against  five  Spanish  Gallies.  Who  is  safely  returned 
this  present  Moneth  of  May.  Anno  D.  1591.  4to. 
B.  L.  3  leaves. 

This  tract,  small  as  it  is,  was  considered  of  sufficient  importance 
to  be  entered  at  Stationer's  Hall  on  the  15th  May,  1591,  by 
Andrewe  White,  who,  on  the  same  day,  also  registered  "  a  ballad 
of  the  same  vyctorye."  There  is  a  woodcut  of  a  ship  under  sail 
on  the  title-page,  and  it  occupies  so  much  room  that,  if  there  were 
ever  any  stationer's  name  under  it,  it  has  been  cut  away.  The 
terms  of  the  entry  in  the  Registers  are  these  :  — 

"  Andrewe  White.  Entred  unto  him  &c.  The  wonderful!  vyctorie  ob- 
teyned  by  the  Centuryon  of  London  againste  fyve  Spanishe  gallies,  the 
iiijth.  of  April,  beinge  Ester  daye,  1591." 

The  tract  itself  gives  the  date  of  the  fight  "  upon  Ester  day 
last,  in  the  straights  of  lebualtare,"  where  the  Centurion,  of  45 
men  and  boys,  in  company  with  three  smaller  vessels,  which  left 
her  to  her  fate,  was  attacked  during  a  calm  by  five  galleys  full  of 
Spaniards :  "  in  every  of  the  gallies,"  says  the  account,  "  there 
was  about  five  or  sixe  hundreth  souldiours,"  but  the  meaning  must 
surely  be  that  there  were  500  or  600  Spaniards  in  the  whole,  and 
not  in  each  galley.  The  enemy  was  beaten  off  with  considerable 
loss,  after  a  determined  resistance  of  five  hours  and  a  half. 

The  name  of  the  Captain  of  the  Centurion  was  Robert  Brad- 
shawe,  and  at  the  end  of  the  pamphlet,  after  the  word  "  Finis," 
we  meet  with  the  subsequent  sort  of  attestation  to  the  truth  of  the 
narrative  :  "  Present  at  this  fight,  Maister  John  Hawes,  Marchant, 
and  sundry  other  of  good  account."  One  of  the  companions  of 


144  Btbltograpljkal  2Ucoitnt  of 

the  Centurion,  the  Dolphin,  was  afterwards  attacked  by  the  Span 
iards  and  blown  up. 

We  are  enabled  to  give  three  stanzas  of  the  ballad  from  a 
broadside  fragment :  the  whole,  though  we  have  never  met  with 
it,  may  be  in  existence,  and  what  follows  will  be  sufficient  for 
identification  :  — 

"  Come  listen  noble  mariners 

And  I  a  tale  will  tell 
Of  how  the  bold  Centurion 
The  Spaniards  did  refell. 

Howe  well  ye  mariners. 

"  She  had  but  five  and  forty  men, 
The  Spaniards  many  hunderd, 
And  if  they  gain'd  the  victory, 
The  ship  they  would  have  plnnderd. 
Rowe  well,  tfc. 

"The  Spaniards  rowd  in  gallies  five; 

No  breath  of  wind  did  blow, 
But  still  the  bolde  Centurion 
Most  boldly  met  the  foe. 

Rowe  well,  cfc. 

The  above  must  have  been  sung  to  the  popular  old  tune  *  of 
"  Row  well,  ye  Mariners,"  but  we  have  seen  various  sea-songs,  of 
different  measures,  to  the  same  air. 


CHALKHILL,  JOHN.  —  Thealma  and  Clearchus.  A  Pasto 
ral  History  in  ^smooth  and  easie  Verse.  Written  long 
since  by  John  Chalkhill  Esq.  an  Acquaintant  and  Friend 
of  Edward  Spencer.  —  London  :  Printed  for  Benj.  Tooke 
&c.  1683.  8vo.  87  leaves. 

This  poem,  in  couplets,  was  edited  by  Izaac  Walton,  and  his 
brief  preface  is  dated  May  7,  1678,  but  the  work  did  not  come 
from  the  press  until  five  years  afterwards.  It  is  a  circumstance 

i  Regarding  this  tune,  see  Chappell's  admirable  work  "  Popular  Music 
of  the  olden  Time,"  pp.  712,  770. 


(Englislj  Citcrature.  145 

not  noticed  by  Sir  John  Hawkins  in  his  Life  of  Walton,  nor  in 
other  authorities,  that  Spenser's  Christian  name  is  sometimes  mis 
takenly  given  on  the  title-page,  Edward  instead  of  Edmund :  such 
is  the  case  with  the  copy  before  us.  The  volume  is  preceded  by 
lines  from  the  pen  of  Thomas  Flatman,  dated  June  5,  1683,  about 
six  months  before  Walton's  death,  on  the  15th  of  December,  1683, 
in  his  ninety-first  year.  The  second  Earl  of  Bridge-water  seems 
to  have  been  an  attentive  and  an  admiring  reader  of  Chalkhill's 
poem,  and  has  corrected  errors  of  the  press  in  various  parts 
of  it. 

There  is  some  reason  for  assigning  to  Chalkhill  a  collection  of 
small  poems  under  the  title  of  "  Alcilia,  Philoparthens  loving 
Folly,"  which  was  first  printed  in  4to,  1613,1  in  a  volume  with 
Marston's  "  Pygmalion's  Image,"  and  "  The  Love  of  Amos  and 
Laura."  The  last  of  these  is  dedicated  to  Iz.  Wa.,  or  Izaac  Wal 
ton,  which  connects  him  with  the  publication  ;  and  at  the  end  of 
the  first  piece  are  the  initials  I.  C.,  which  perhaps  were  those  of 
John  Chalkhill.  There  were  subsequent  editions  of  "  Alcilia"  in 
8vo,  1619,  and  4to,  1628,  and  it  certainly  deserved  considerable 
popularity  for  the  "  smooth  and  easy  verse  "  in  which  it  is  writ 
ten,  _  a  quality  imputed  by  Walton  to  Chalkhill's  poetry.  The 
author  of  "  Alcilia  "  gives  himself  Philoparthen  as  his  poetical 
name,  and  to  him  an  epistle  preceding  the  poems  is  addressed, 
headed,  "  A  Letter  written  by  a  Gentleman  to  the  Author  his 
Friend,"  signed  Philaretes:  this  may  possibly  have  been  Walton, 
who,  nearly  sixty  years  afterwards,  edited  u  Thealma  and  Clear- 
chus."  The  principal  part  of  "  Alcilia  "  consists  of  what  I.  C.  is 
pleased  to  call  "  Sonnets,"  or  short  pieces  in  six-line  stanzas,  often 
unconnected  excepting  in  the  general  subject.  A  specimen  or 
two  may  be  not  improperly  subjoined  :  — 

"  What  thing  is  Love?     A  Tyrant  of  the  rninde, 
Begot  by  hate  of  youth,  brought  forth  by  sloth, 
Nurst  with  vain  thoughts  and  changing  as  the  wind ; 
A  deepe  dissembler  void  of  faith  and  troth: 

i  See  also,  respecting  this  work  and  the  edition  of  1613,  (which  we 
never  saw  until  sometime  after  the  appearance  of  the  Bridgw.  Catalogue,) 
the  Rev.  T.  Corser's  valuable  Collectanea  Anglo-poetica,  printed  for  the 
Chetham  Society  in  1560,  p.  15. 

VOL.  i.  10 


146  JJibltograpljtcal  Account  of 

Fraught  with  fond  errors,  doubts,  despite,  disdain, 
And  all  the  plagues  that  earth  and  hell  containe. 

"  What  thing  is  Beauty?    Natures  dearest  minion, 
The  snare  of  youth;  like  the  inconstant  Moone 
Waxing  and  wayning;  error  of  opinion, 
A  mornings  flowre  that  withereth  ere  noone : 
A  swelling  fruit,  no  sooner  ripe  than  rotten, 
Which  sicknesse  makes  forlorne,  and  time  forgotten." 

Not  a  very  inconsiderable  portion  of  "  Alcilia  "  is  in  couplets, 
and  the  style,  in  more  than  one  respect,  reminds  us  of  the  versifi 
cation  of  "  Thealma  and  Clearchus."  The  following  lines  are 
from  a  division  of  the  work  called  "  Love's  accusation  at  the 
Judgment-seat  of  Reason  " :  it  forms  part  of  "  the  Author's  evi 
dence  against  Love  "  :  — 

"  It 's  now  two  yeares  (as  I  remember  well) 
Since  first  this  wretch,  sent  from  the  neather  hell 
To  plague  the  world  with  new-found  cruelties, 
Under  the  shadow  of  two  christall  eyes 
Betraid  my  sense ;  and  as  I  slumbring  lay 
Felloniously  convay'd  my  heart  away, 
Which  most  unjustly  he  detain' d  from  mee, 
And  exercis'd  thereon  strange  tyranny. 
Sometime  his  manner  was  to  sport  and  game, 
With  bry'rs  and  thorns  to  raise  and  pricke  the  same ; 
Sometime  with  nettles  of  desire  to  sting  it; 
Sometime  with  pinsons  of  despaire  to  wring  it: 
Sometime  againe  he  would  anoynt  the  sore 
And  heale  the  place  that  he  had  hurt  before; 
But  hurtfull  helps  and  ministred  in  vaine, 
Which  served  only  to  renew  my  paine: 
For,  after  that,  more  wounds  he  added  still, 
Which  pierced  deepe,  but  had  no  power  to  kill. 
Unhappy  med'cine,  which,  in  stead  of  cure, 
Gives  strength  to  make  the  patient  more  indure !  " 

Although,  perhaps,  no  particular  resemblance  can  be  pointed 
out,  yet  in  "  Thealma  and  Clearchus  "  we  observe  the  same  flow 
of  the  verse,  and  so  great  a  similarity  of  pause  and  rhythm,  as, 
combined  with  other  circumstances,  to  make  it  probable  that  both 
that  work  and  "  Alcilia  "  were  from  one  pen. 


(Earls  (Enjltslj  Citcrature.  147 

CHAMBERLAIN,  ROBERT.  —  Jocabella,  or  a  Cabinet  of  Con 
ceits.  Whereunto  are  added  Epigrams  and  other  Poems 
by  R.  C.  &c.  — London,  Printed  by  R.  Hodgkinson  for 
Daniel  Frere  &c.  1640.  12mo. 

A  jest-book  of  very  rare  occurrence,  and  especially  recom 
mended  to  notice  by  one  of  the  "Conceits"  applying  to,  and 
naming,  Shakspeare. 

The  above  printed  title-page  is  preceded  by  an  engraved  one, 
"  J.  R.  fecit,"  representing  Mercury  and  the  Fates  in  the  fore 
ground,  and  a  champaign  country  with  a  river  in  the  background : 
underneath  the  plate  is  this  couplet :  — 

"  The  Featherd  God  doth  by  his  mirth  betray 
The  Fatall  huswifes  of  or.  lives  to  play." 

The  dedication  to  Mr.  John  Wild  is  subscribed  Robert  Cham 
berlain,  probably  the  author  of  «  Nocturnal  Lucubrations,"  1638, 
and  «  The  Swaggering  Damsel,"  a  comedy,  1640,  of  whom  little 
is  known,  excepting  that  he  was  of  Exeter  College.     After  a  short 
address  «  to  the  Reader,"  begins,  «  Jocabella,  or  the  Cabinet  of 
Conceits,"  numbered  from  1  to  459,  followed  by  a  few  poems,  only 
interesting  on  account  of  their  temporary  application.     One  is, 
"  On  the  new  fashion'd  coats  without  sleeves,  called  Rockets ;  " 
another, "  On  the  new  fashion'd  high-crown 'd  hats  ; "  a  third,  "  On 
the  new  fashion'd  long  cuffes;"  a  fourth,  «  On  Mr.  Nabb'es  his 
Comedie  called  the  Bride;"  and  a  fifth,  «  On  the  Swines-fac't 
Lady."     Two  commendatory  copies  of  verses,  signed  "  C.   G 
Oxon."  and  «  T.  R.,"  most  unusually  placed  at  the  end,  conclude 
the  small  volume. 

The  mention  of  Shakspeare  is  met  with  in  the  Conceit  num 
bered  391,  and  it  is  this:  — 

«  One  asked  another  what  Shakespeares  workes  were  worth,  all  bein* 

bound  together?  hee  answered,  not  a  farthing:  not  worth  a  farthing  said 

he,  why  so?     He  answered,  that  his  playes  were  worth  a  great  deale  of 

>ney,  but  he  never  heard  that  his  workes  were  worth  anything  at  all." 

At  the  time  the  above  was  printed,  Shakspeare's  Plays  had  been 

published  twice  "  bound  together,"  viz.,  in  1623  and  1632.     All 

the  «  Conceits  "  are  necessarily  short,  but  some  of  them,  as  might 


148  33ibltograpljical  Tlccount  of 

be  expected,  have  little  point.  The  following  illustrates  a  well- 
remembered  passage  in  Butler's  "  Pludibras,"  published  more  than 
twenty  years  afterwards  :  it  is  numbered  69  :  — 

"A  gentleman  going  to  take  horse  was  observed  to  have  but  one  spur; 
and  being  asked  the  reason,  answered,  that  if  he  could  make  one  side  of 
his  horse  goe,  he  made  no  question  but  the  other  side  would  goe  along 
with  it." 

Number  83  only  gives  in  prose  what  on  a  previous  page  (21) 
we  have  seen  in  verse  :  — 

"  A  Schoole-master,  upon  a  bitter  cold  day,  seeing  one  of  his  Scollers 
extreamly  benumb'd,  asked  him  what  was  the  Latin  for  cold?  he  an 
swered,  6  Sir,  1  have  it  at  my  fingers  ends." 

The  next  we  shall  quote  has  little  point,  but  it  relates  to  an  in 
teresting  topic  —  the  employment,  until  the  Restoration,  of  male 
actors  on  the  stage  to  sustain  the  parts  of  women.  It  is  numbered 
122:  — 

"  A  Gentleman  meeting  a  stage  player  in  a  great  sicknes  time,  who  had 
formerly  plaid  womens  parts,  told  him  he  was  growne  grave,  and  that  he 
began  to  have  a  beard:  the  other  answered,  while  the  grasse  growes  the 
horse  did  starve ;  meaning,  because  there  was  then  no  playing,  and  there 
fore  he  did  let  his  beard  grow." 

While  the  plague  prevailed  in  London,  no  performances  were 
allowed  at  the  theatres.  These  are  a  fair  specimen  of  the  whole 
work.  According  to  Anthony  Wood,  Chamberlain  did  not  go  to 
Oxford  until  1637,  when  he  was  thirty  years  old:  if  so,  "  Joca- 
bella"  must  have  been  collected,  and  perhaps  printed  while  he 
was  still  at  college. 


CHAPMAN,  GEORGE.  — Petrarchs  seven  Penitentiall  Psalms, 
paraphrastically  translated.  With  other  Philosophical! 
Poems,  and  a  Hymne  to  Christ  upon  the  Crosse.  Writ 
ten  by  George  Chapman.  [Mottos  from  Arri.  Epict.] 
—  London,  Imprinted  by  Matthew  Selman  dwelling  in 
Fleete-streete  neare  Chancerie  Lane.  1612.  8vo.  50 


(Eavlw  Cfngltslj  Citerature.  149 

This  is  one  of  the  scarcest  of  Chapman's  productions,  and  we 
have  never  seen  more  than  three  perfect  copies  of  it.  Warton 
(H.  E.  P.  iv.  275)  only  knew  of  it  from  the  Stationers'  Registers, 
where  it  was  entered  the  year  before  it  was  published  ;  and  Dr. 
Bliss  (Ath.  Oxon.  II.  579),  supplying  the  omissions  of  Wood,  was 
obviously  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  a  most  beautiful  exemplar 
in  the  Bodleian  Library :  he  cited  the  entry  at  Stationers'  Hall 
exactly  as  he  found  it  in  Warton.  The  title-page  above  quoted 
gives  us  no  information  respecting  what  is,  on  some  accounts,  the 
most  interesting  portion  of  the  small  volume,  namely,  a  number  of 
miscellaneous  original  poems,  of  which  we  shall  speak  presently. 

The  dedication  is  to  the  then  Master  of  the  Rolls,  Sir  Edward 
Phillips,  requesting  him  to  read  the  book  "  at  his  emptiest  leisure." 
Chapman  excusing  himself  for  not  addressing  it  "to  his  most  gra 
cious  and  sacred  patron  "  Prince  Henry,  on  the  ground  that  he 
destined  for  him  his  great  work,  the  translation  of  Homer.  Then 
begin  the  paraphrastical  versions  of  Petrarch's  seven  penitential 
Psalms :  I.  Heu  mihi  misero.  II.  Invocabo  quern  offendi.  III.  Mis 
erere  Domine.  IV.  Recordari  libet.  V.  Nodes  mece  in  mcerore 
transeunt.  VI.  Circumvallarunt  me  inimici  VII.  Cogitabam  stare. 

He  gives  another,  and  what  he  terms  a  stricter,  version  of  the 
first  Psalm,  but  it  is  the  only  one  he  so  treats.  The  paraphrase  of 
the  first  stanza  is  this :  — 

"  0  me  wretch !  I  have  enrag'd 
My  Redeemer,  and  engag'd 

My  life,  on  death's  slow  foote  presuming: 
1  have  broke  his  blessed  lawes, 
Turning,  with  accursed  cajise, 

Saving  love  to  wrath  consuming." 

"  More  strictly  translated,"  it  stands  as  follows :  — 

"  0  me  accurst !  since  I  have  set  on  me 

(Incenst  so  sternely)  my  so  meeke  Redeemer, 
And  have  bene  proud,  in  prides  supreme  degree, 
Of  his  so  serious  law  a  sleight  esteemer." 

Chapman  admits,  as  all  must  allow,  that  his  style  is  sometimes 
"  harsh,"  and  we  may  add  that  it  is  often  obscure,  from  a  struggle 
to  bring  his  weighty  and  expansive  thoughts  into  as  small  a  com- 


150  BibUogrctfiljical  3Ucoitnt  of 

pass  of  words  as  possible.     His  "  Hymne  to  our  Saviour  on  the 
Cross  "  begins, 

"  Haile,  great  Eedeemer!  man  and  God  all  haile! 
Whose  fervent  agonie  tore  temples  vaile, 
Let  sacrifices  out,  darke  Prophesies 
And  miracles :  and  let  in  for  all  these 
A  simple  pietie,  a  naked  heart 
And  humble  spirit,  that  no  lesse  impart 
And  prove  thy  Godhead  to  us,  being  as  rare, 
And  in  all  sacred  powre  as  circulare." 

In  reference  to  the  words  "A  simple  pietie,"  Chapman  adds  this 
note  :  —  "  Simplicitie  of  pietie,  and  good  life  answerable  to  such 
doctrine,  in  men,  now  as  rare  as  miracles  in  other  times  ;  and  re 
quire  as  much  divinitie  of  supportation."  The  divines  of  his  day 
were  not  much  in  favor  with  him,  for  he  proceeds  afterwards,  — 

"  Thou  couldst  have  come  in  glorie  past  them  all, 
With  powre  to  force  thy  pleasure,  and  empale 
Thy  Church  with  brasse  and  Adamant,  that  no  swine, 
Nor  theeves,  nor  hypocrites,  nor  fiends  divine, 
Could  have  broke  in,  or  rooted,  or  put  on 
Vestments  of  pietie,  when  their  hearts  had  none ; " 

upon  which  he  subjoins  this  note  :  —  "  Such  as  are  our  divines  in 
possession,  and  in  fact  devils,  or  wolves  in  sheepes  clothing." 
Elsewhere  he  thus  applies  the  mythological  fable  of  Narcissus : 

"  Hence  came  the  cruell  fate  that  Orpheus 
Sings  of  Narcissus;  who  being  amorous 
Of  his  shade  in  the  water  (which  denotes 
Beautie  in  bodies  that  like  water  flotes) 
Despis'd  himselfe,  Jus  soule,  and  so  let  fade 
His  substance  for  a  never-purchast  shade : 
Since  soules  of  their  use  ignorant  are  still 
With  this  vile  bodies  use,  men  never  fill." 

This  is  obscure.  He  draws  up  the  moral  of  his  whole  hymn  in 
the  following  couplet,  placed  at  the  end,  and  marked  by  Italic 

type : — 

"  Complaine  not,  whatsoever  Need  invades, 
But  heaviest  fortunes  beare  as  lightest  shades." 

We  must  now  make  a  few  quotations  from  the  third  portion  of 
the  book,  consisting  chiefly  of  original  pieces,  which  Chapman  was 


(Earlg  (fnglislj  literature.  151 

too  modest  to  announce  on  the  title-page.  After  translating 
"Virgil's  Epigram  of  a  good  man"  and  others,  he  gives  a  few 
epigrams  of  his  own  ;  as,  — 

Of  Learning. 
"  Learning  is  the  Art  of  good  life :  they,  then, 

That  lead  not  good  lives  are  not  learned  men." 

Rather  too  severe  a  test,  but  a  logical  conclusion,  admitting  the 
premise. 

Of  Attire. 

"In  habite,  nor  in  any  ill  to  th'eie, 
Affright  the  vulgar  from  Philosophic; 
But  as  in  lookes,  words,  workes  men  witnesse  thee 
Comely  and  checklesse,  so  in  habite  be." 

We  conclude  with  a  piece  entitled, 

Of  great  Men. 

"  When  Homer  made  Achilles  passionate, 
Wrathful!,  revengefull,  and  insatiate 
In  his  affections,  what  man  will  denie 
He  did  compose  all  that  of  Industrie? 
To  let  man  see  that  men  of  most  renowne, 
Strongst,  noblest,  fairest,  if  they  set  not  downe 
Decrees  within  them  for  disposing  these 
Of  judgement,  resolution,  uprightnesse, 
And  vertuous  knowledge  of  their  use  and  ends 
Mishaps  and  miseries  no  lesse  extends 
To  their  destruction,  with  all  that  they  prisde 
Then  to  the  poorest  and  the  most  despisde." 

As  no  bibliographer  has  ever  made  an  extract  from  this  rare 
volume,  and  some  have  not  even  mentioned  it,  we  have  thought 
it  right  to  go  more  into  detail  regarding  it. 


CHAPMAN,  GEORGE.  —  Homer  Prince  of  Poets :  Trans 
lated  according  to  the  Greeke,  in  twelue  Bookes  of  his 
Iliads.  By  Geo.  Chapman.  Qui  nil  molitur  inepte. — 
At  London  printed  for  Samuel  Macham.  n.  d.  fol. 
126  leaves. 


152  Btbliograpljkal  TUcount  of 

The  title-page  is  engraved  by  W.  Hole  :  on  either  side  is  a 
figure  of  Achilles  and  Hector,  and  at  the  top  a  head  of  Homer, 
supported  by  Vulcan  and  Apollo,  with  this  motto,  — 

Mulciberin  Trojam,  pro  Troja  stabat  Apollo. 

At  what  precise  date  these  twelve  first  books  of  the  Iliad  came 
out  cannot  be  ascertained,  as  no  year  is  mentioned  in  any  part  of 
the  volume.  "  Seven  Books  of  the  Iliads  "  and  «  The  Shield  of 
Achilles "  appeared  in  1598,  and  the  remaining  five  books  were 
not  added  to  the  seven  and  printed,  at  all  events,  till  1603,  as 
they  are  dedicated  in  verse,  and  at  length,  to  Prince  Henry  :  to 
this  in  some  copies  (as  in  the  present)  a  sonnet  to  Queen  Anne 
is  subjoined,  but  the  leaf  does  not  belong  to  the  regular  series  of 
the  signatures.  It  is  followed  by  an  interesting  address  "  to  the 
Reader,"  where  Chapman  thus  adverts  to  the  general  principles 
of  translation  :  — 

"  Which  how  I  have  in  my  conversion  prov'd, 
I  must  confesse,  I  hardly  dare  referre 

To  reading  judgements,  since  so  generally 
Custome  hath  made  even  th'  ablest  agents  erre 

In  these  translations:  all  so  much  apply 
Their  paines  and  cunnings  word  for  word  to  render 

Their  patient  Authors ;  when  they  may  as  well 
Make  fish  with  foule,  camels  with  whales  engender, 

Or  their  tongues  speech  in  other  mouths  compel!. 
For  even  as  different  a  production 

Asks  Greeke  and  English;  since,  as  they,  in  sounds 
And  letters  shun  one  form  and  unison, 

So  have  their  sense  and  elegancie  bounds 
In  their  distinguish!  natures,  and  require 

Onely  a  judgement  to  make  both  consent 
In  sense  and  elocution;  and  aspire 

As  well  to  reach  the  spirit  that  was  spent 
In  his  example,  as  with  art  to  pierse 

His  grammar  and  etymologic  of  words." 

Of  the  capabilities  of  English  he  remarks  farther  on  :  — 

"  And  for  our  tongue,  that  still  is  so  empayrde 

By  travailing  linguists,  I  can  prove  it  cleere 

That  no  tongue  hath  the  Muses  utterance  heyrde 

For  verse,  and  that  sweet  musique  to  the  eare 


(Earlji  (Engltslj  £itcraturt.  153 

Strooke  out  of  rime,  so  naturally  as  this : 

Our  monosyllables  so  kindly  fall 
And  meete,  opposde  in  rime,  as  they  did  kisse. 

French  and  Italian,  most  imtnetricall: 
Their  many  syllables  in  harsh  collision 

Fall  as  they  brake  their  necks :  their  bastard  rimes 
Saluting  as  they  justl'd  in  transition, 

And  set  our  teeth  on  edge,  nor  tunes  nor  times 
Kept  in  their  falls.     And,  methinkes,  their  long  words 

Shewe  in  shorte  verse,  as  in  a  narrow  place 
Two  opposites  should  meet  with  two-hand  swords, 

Unwieldily,  without  or  use  or  grace." 

What  he  says  of  English  is  certainly  in  a  great  degree  true,  but 
few  will  agree  in  this  extraordinary  opinion  of  Italian  for  the 
purposes  of  poetry.  It  is  to  be  observed  that,  in  1598,  Chapman 
employed  the  ten-syllable  heroic  measure,  but  he  subsequently  un 
fortunately  adopted  the  fourteen-syllable  long  verse.  The  reason 
for  the  change  he  does  not  explain,  but  the  consequence  of  it  was 
the  addition  of  epithets  and  expletives  to  make  out  the  verse, 
sometimes  without  strengthening  the  sense.  The  volume  is  ter 
minated  by  fourteen  sonnets,  addressed  to  the  Duke  of  Lennox; 
Lord  Chancellor  Ellesmere ;  the  Earl  of  Salisbury;  the  Earl  of 
Suffolk;  the  Earl  of  Northampton ;  Lady  Arabella  Stuart;  the 
Countess  of  Bedford ;  the  Earl  of  Sussex  ;  the  Earl  of  Pembroke ; 
the  Earl  of  Montgomery ;  Lord  Lisle  ;  Lord  Wotton  ;  the  Earl  of 
Southampton  ;  and  Prince  Henry.  They  are  here  enumerated, 
because  sometimes  there  is  a  difference  in  this  respect,  and  one 
copy  now  before  us  has  two  additional  sonnets  to  Lady  Mont 
gomery  and  Lady  Wroth :  it  was  presented  by  the  author  to  Sir 
Henry  Crofts,  and  contains  some  emendations  in  the  handwriting 
of  the  poet,  such  as  the  misprint  of  "  a  dance  "  for  advance,  in  the 
first  line  of  p.  215. 

The  two  sonnets  to  Lady  Montgomery  and  Lady  Wroth,  which  do 
not  usually  occur,  possess  no  greater  merit  than  the  other  compli 
mentary  poems  of  the  same  kind.  They  were  inserted  on  a  sepa 
rate  leaf,  each  sonnet  occupying  a  whole  page,  and  were  probably 
an  after-thought  by  the  translator.  Spenser  was  the  beginner  of 
this  practice  of  adding  supplementary  sonnets. 


154  Bibliograpljical  JUantnt  of 

CHAPMAN,  GEORGE.  —  The  Iliads  of  Homer,  Prince  of 
Poets.  Never  before  in  any  languag  truely  translated. 
With  a  comment  on  -some  of  his  chiefe  places.  Donne 
according  to  the  Greeke  by  Geo.  Chapman.  At  Lon 
don  printed  for  Nathaniell  Butter,  n.  d.  fol.  189 
leaves. 

This  title-page  is  a  larger  engraving,  but  of  the  same  design 
(with  trifling  variations)  as  that  to  the  twelve  books.  It  is  also  by 
TV.  Hole. 

The  date  of  publication  is  here  again  a  matter  of  conjecture, 
but  it  may  be  assigned  to  the  year  1611  or  1612.  The  volume 
consists  of  the  whole  of  the  Iliad,  and  the  dedication  to  the  twelve 
books  to  Prince  Henry  is  republished.  To  it  succeeds  a  sonnet, 
printed  for  the  first  time,  upon  the  anagram  of  Henry  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  the  sonnet  to  the  Queen.  Next  we  have  the  address 
in  verse  to  the  Reader,  as  before  the  twelve  books,  with  a  prose 
preface,  which  contains  the  following  remarkable  passage  :  — 

"  If  I  have  not  turned  him  in  any  place  falsly  (as  all  other  his  inter 
preters  have  in  many,  and  most  of  his  chiefe  places):  if  I  have  not  left 
behind  me  any  of  his  sentence,  elegancie,  height,  intention  and  invention: 
if  in  some  few  places  (especially  in  my  first  edition,  being  done  so  long 
since,  and  following  the  common  tract)  I  be  something  paraphrasticall 
and  faulty,  is  it  justice  in  that  poore  fault  (if  they  will  needs  have  it  so)*to 
drowne  all  the  rest  of  my  labour?  But  there  is  a  certaine  envious  Wind- 
sucker  that  hovers  up  and  downe,  laboriously  engrossing  al  the  aire  with 
his  luxurious  ambition,  and  buzzing  into  every  eare  my  detraction;  af 
firming  I  turne  Homer  out  of  the  Latine  onely  &c.  that  sets  all  his  asso 
ciates,  and  the  whole  rabble  of  my  maligners  on  their  wings  with  him  to 
beare  about  my  empaire,  and  poyson  my  reputation :  One  that,  as  he 
thinkes  whatsoever  he  gives  to  others  he  takes  from  himselfe,  so  whatso 
ever  he  takes  from  others  he  addes  to  himselfe:  One,  that  in  this  kinde 
of  robberie  doth,  like  Mercuric,  that  stole  good  and  supplied  it  with 
counterfeit  bad  still:  One,  like  the  two  gluttons,  Phyloxenus  and  Gnatho, 
that  would  still  emptie  their  noses  in  the  dishes  they  loved,  that  no  man 
might  eate  but  themselves ;  for  so  this  Castrill,  with  too  hote  a  liver  and 
lust  after  his  owne  glorie,  and  to  devoure  all  himselfe,  discourageth  all 
appetites  to  the  fame  of  another.  I  have  stricken  —  single  him  as  you 
can." 

Some  of  the  critics  upon  Ben  Jonson  would  have  "  singled 


ti  (Snglislj  Citcratitre.  155 

him  "  ;  but  the  sonnet  to  Lady  Montgomery,  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  article,  shows  incontestably  that  Chapman  and  Jonson 
•were  on  the  most  friendly  terms.  It  seems  likely  that  Marston 
was  the  poet  alluded  to,  because  he  was  afflicted  with  an  envious 
turn  of  mind.  Chapman  apologizes  for  the  imperfectness  of  his 
"first  edition,"  by  which  we  are  perhaps  to  understand  the  twelve 
books  published  after  1603,  and  not  the  seven  books  printed  in 
1598.  In  this  complete  translation  of  the  Iliad  he  very  materially 
altered  the  first  book,  and  the  second  as  far  as  the  catalogue  of 
ships,  after  which  Chapman  adhered  pretty  closely  to  his  earlier 
(not  earliest)  version.  To  every  book  he  added  a  "  Commen- 
tarius,"  partly  perhaps  to  counteract  the  assertion  of  the  "  envious 
windsucker,"  that  he  had  "  turned  Homer  out  of  Latin  only."  He 
terminates  the  whole  with  the  following  brief  address  to  his  book, 
which,  in  the  subsequent  edition  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  to 
gether,  was  omitted :  — 

"  Thus  farre  the  Ilian  Kuines  I  have  laid 
Open  to  English  eyes:  in  which  (repaid 
With  thine  owne  value)  go,  unvalu'd  Booke, 
Live  and  be  lov'd.    If  any  envious  looke 
Hurt  thy  cleare  fame,  learne  that  no  state  more  hie 
Attends  on  vertue,  then  pin'd  Envies  eye. 
Would  thou  wert  worth  it  that  the  best  doth  wound, 
Which  this  age  feedes,  and  which  the  last  shall  bound." 

It  appears  by  what  Chapman  says  in  prose  afterwards,  that  he 
translated  the  last  twelve  books  in  less  than  fifteen  weeks.  From 
a  passage  in  his  "  Euthymice  Raptus,  or  the  Tears  of  Peace,"  4to, 
1609,  we  learn  that  Prince  Henry  had  laid  his  injunctions  upon 
the  poet  to  complete  his  version  of  the  Iliad. 

"  In  venturing  this  delay  of  your  command 
To  end  his  Iliads,"  &c., 

are  his  words,  in  what  Chapman  entitles  Corrolarium  ad  Prin- 
cipem.  For  the  purpose  of  finishing  the  undertaking  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible,  Chapman  retired  to  Hitching,  where  his  family 
appears  to  have  been  settled ;  and  W.  Browne,  in  his  "  Britannia's 
Pastorals"  (1616),  Book  II.  Song  2,  calls  him 

"  The  learned  Shepherd  of  fair  Hitching  Hill." 


156  Bibltograpljiral  TUrount  of 

In  his  address  to  the  reader,  before  his  translation,  Chapman 
promises  a  separate  "  Poem  of  the  Mysteries  revealed  in  Homer." 
We  are  not  aware  that  anything  of  the  kind  was  published  by 
him,  but  perhaps  it  afforded  him  pleasant  occupation  in  his  old 
age. 


CHAPMAN,  GEORGE. — The  Crowne  of  all  Homers  Worckes, 
Batrachomyomachia,  or  the  Battaile  of  Frogs  and  Mise. 
His  Hymns  and  Epigrams.  Translated  according  to 
the  originall  by  George  Chapman.  —  London,  Printed  by 
John  Bill,  &c.  n.  d.  folio.  101  leaves. 

The  high  reverence  Chapman  felt  for  the  art  in  which  he  spent 
a  long  life  seems  to  have  increased  with  his  age,  and  probably  one 
of  the  latest  undertakings  upon  which  he  was  engaged  was  this 
completion  of  the  translation  of  the  works  of  the  greatest  Grecian 
poet.  He  tells  the  Earl  of  Somerset  in  the  dedication  :  — 

"  Kings  may,  perhaps,  wish  even  your  beggars  voice 
To  their  eternities  —  how  skornd  a  choice 
Soever  now  it  lies;  and,  dead,  I  may 
Extend  your  life  to  light's  extreamest  raie. 
If  not,  your  Homer  yet,  past  doubt,  shall  make 
Immortall,  like  himself,  your  bounties  stake 
Put  in  my  hands  to  propagate  your  fame :  — 
Such  virtue  reigns  in  such  united  name." 

The  preceding  lines,  with  others  not  always  so  intelligible,  fol 
low  an  engraved  title-page  by  Will :  Pass,  containing  a  portrait  of 
Chapman  at  the  bottom,  and  above,  Homer  crowned  by  Apollo 
and  Minerva,  with  Mercury  standing  between  them,  at  the  back 
of  the  chair  in  which  Homer  is  seated.  To  the  dedication  is  added 
in  prose,  "  The  occasion  of  this  impos'd  Crowne,"  after  which  the 
version  of  Batrachomyomachia  commences,  followed  by  Hymns  to 
Apollo,  Hermes,  Venus,  Bacchus,  Mars,  Diana,  &c.  After  these 
come  "  Certaine  Epigramms  and  other  Poems  of  Homer,"  includ 
ing  the  various  imputed  fragments.  Four  lines,  to  the  Fisher-boys 
who  pleased  Homer  with  riddles,  terminate  the  whole  ;  and  wo 


ti  (EngltsI)  £itcrciture.  157 

there  read,  "  The  end  of  all  the  endlesse  works  of  Homer."    Four 
pages  are  subjoined  in  which  Chapman  speaks  in  his  own  person : — 

"  The  worke  that  I  was  borne  to  doe  is  done. 
Glory  to  him,  that  the  conclusion 
Makes  the  beginning  of  my  life !  and  never 
Let  me  be  said  to  live,  'till  I  live  ever."  £c. 

It  thus  concludes  :  — 

"  For  me,  let  just  men  judge,  by  what  I  show 
In  Acts  expos'd,  how  much  I  erre  or  knowe; 
And  let  not  Envie  make  all  worse  then  nought 
With  her  meare  headstrong  and  quite  braineles  thought: 
Others  for  doing  nothing  giving  all, 
And  bounding  all  worth  in  her  bursten  gall. 

"  God  and  my  deare  Redeemer  rescue  me 
From  men's  immane  and  mad  impietie; 
And  by  my  life  and  soule  (sole  knowne  to  them) 
Make  me  of  Palme  or  Yew  an  anadem. 
And  so,  my  sole  God,  the  thrice  sacred  Trine, 
Beare  all  th'  ascription  of  all  me  and  mine." 

Chapman  winds  up  by  a  short  Latin  prayer  in  a  similar  spirit. 
It  is  to  be  observed  that  in  his  version  of  the  Batrachomyomachia 
he  uses  the  Greek  names  given  to  the  Frogs  and  Mice,  inserting 
literal  translations  of  them  in  the  margin. 

It  is  conjectured  that  this  work  was  printed  about  1624.  Chap 
man  was  then  sixty-five  years  old,  having  been  born  in  1559,  five 
years  before  Shakspeare  :  he  died  in  1634. 

We  have  already  mentioned  Chapman's  retirement  to  Hitching, 
Herts  :  he  must  have  had  relations  resident  there,  for  in  Nov.  1619 
Thomas  Chapman  presented  a  petition  to  Prince  Charles  for  the 
Bailywick  of  Hitching,  of  which  he  had  been  deprived  by  the  Earl 
of  Salisbury.  On  30th  Nov.  this  petition  was  referred  to  the  Chan 
cellor  and  Commissioners  of  the  Prince's  revenue.  See  Harl.  MS. 
No.  781.  At  an  earlier  period  of  his  life,  George  Chapman  "  poet " 
had  lived  in  Southwark :  he  was  then,  1598,  writing  plays  for  the 
theatres  in  the  neighborhood. 


158  Bibltograpljical  Account  of 

CHARLES  THE  FIRST.  —  The  true  Effigies  of  our  most  Illus 
trious   Soveraigne  Lord,  King   Charles,  Queene  Mary, 
with  the  rest  of  the  Royall  Progenie.     Also  a  Compen 
dium  or  Abstract  of  their  most  famous  Geneologies  and 
Pedegrees,  expressed  in  Prose  and  Verse.      With  the 
Times  and  Places  of  their  Births.  —  Printed  at  London 
for  John  Sweeting  &c.     1641.     4to.     10  leaves. 
This  production  contains  eight  portraits,  viz.:  1,  Charles!.,  a 
kit-cat  in  an  oval,  without  any  engraver's  name,  but  probably  by 
Hollar;  2,  Henrietta  Maria,  a  kit-cat  in  an   oval,  by  Hollar;  3, 
Prince  Charles,  a  half-length  in  an  oval,  without  any  engraver's 
name,  but  dated  1641,  and  perhaps  by  Hollar;  4,  Mary,  Princess 
of  Orange,  a  whole  length,  by  Hollar  ;  5,  Prince  James,  playing  at 
tennis,  a  whole  length,  by  M.  Meisan;  6,  Princess  Elizabeth,  a 
whole  length,  by  Ro.  Vaughan ;  7,  Princess  Anna,  a  whole  length, 
with  "  J.  v.  L.  f."  at  the  corner;  8,  a  plate,  representing  at  the 
top  the   infant  Prince  Charles  dead,  and  at  the  bottom  Prince 
Henry  Duke  of  Gloucester  in  long  clothes,  without  the  name  of 
any  engraver. 

The  work  is  without  preface,  dedication,  or  any  kind  of  intro 
duction,  and  to  the  verses  belonging  to  the  portraits  no  name  is 
attached ;  in  truth,  they  were  not  worth  owning.  The  following, 
entitled  Maria  Regina,  are  a  favorable  sample  of  the  rest :  — 

"  Within  the  substance  of  this  figure  here 
The  Graces  and  the  Vertue[s]  do  shine  cleare: 
The  Godesses,  the  Muses,  all  agree 
That  in  her  brest  their  residence  must  be. 
From  Juno  her  majestique  mind  she  gain'd; 
From  Citherea  beauty  she  attain'd; 
Minerva  (Pallas)  hath  inspir'd  her  heart 
With  courage  in  regarding  armes  and  art: 
Apollo  with  his  radient  rayes  divine 
Inclin'd  hir  favour  to  the  Sisters  Nine, 
And  for  a  blessing  to  this  happy  land 
Shoe's  largely  graced  by  th'  Almighties  hand 
To  be  a  fruitful  vine,  whose  branches  may 
Spread  gloriously,  as  farre  as  Phoebus  raie. 
In  goodnesse,  greutnesse,  and  in  true  content 
May  she  and  they  be  supereminent." 


<£arlt)  <£ncjlislj  Citcrature.  159 

The  versos  face  the  portraits,  with  the  exception  of  the  last  lines 
upon  Prince  Charles,  who  was  born  and  died  on  the  13th  of  May, 
1629. 


CHAUCER,  GEOFFREY.  —  The  woorkes  of  Geffrey  Chaucer, 
newly  printed  with  diners  addicions,  whiche  were  neuer 
in  printe  before  :  With  the  siege  and  destruccion  of  the 
worthie  citee  of  Thebes,  compiled  by  Ihon  Lidgate, 
Monke  of  Berie.  As  in  the  table  more  plainly  doeth 
appere.  1561.  fol.  B.  L.  388  leaves. 

This  edition,  said  to  have  been  edited  by  Stow  although  his 
name  is  nowhere  found  in  it,  was  printed  by  John  Kyngston  in 
1561,  the  colophon  being,  "  Imprinted  at  London,  by  Ihon  Kyngs 
ton,  for  Ihon  Wight,  dwellyng  in  Poules  Churchyarde.  Anno 
1561."  On  the  title-page  is  a  large  shield  of  Chaucer's  arms,  with 
this  couplet  underneath  it : 

"  Vertue  florisheth  in  Chaucer  still, 
Though  Death  of  hym  hath  wrought  his  will." 

This  is  followed  by  Thynne's  dedication  to  Henry  VIII.,  and  the 
Table  with  "  eight  goodlie  questions,  with  their  answers,"  &c. 
"  The  Caunterburie  tales,"  and  "  The  Romaunt  of  the  Rose," 
have  distinct  titles  in  this  impression. 


CHAUCER,  GEOFFREY.  —  The  Workes  of  our  Ancient  and 
learned  English  Poet,  Geffrey  Chaucer,  newly  Printed, 
&c.  —  London,  Printed  by  Adam  Islip.  Ann  Doin. 
1602.  fol.  414  leaves. 

This  is  Thomas  Speght's  second  edition,  (the  first  had  appeared 
in  1598,)  and  his  dedication  to  Sir  Robert  Cecil  follows  a  plate 
headed,  "  The  Progenie  of  Geffrey  Chaucer,"  with  the  full  length 
of  the  poet  in  the  centre.  In  an  address  "  to  the  Readers " 
Speght  acknowledges  his  obligations  to  Francis  Thynne,  who, 


160  JJibliograpljtwl  Account  of 

besides  his  aid  in  preparing  the  work,  contributed  some  lines 
"  Upon  the  picture  of  Chaucer,"  which  precede  the  Hie.  After 
the  life  comes  a  new  general  title  to  "  The  Workes  of  Geffrey 
Chaucer,"  &c.,  with  the  identical  woodcut  of  Chaucer's  arms 
which  had  been  used  by  John  Kyngston  in  1561.  On  the  earliest 
title  is  given  a  list  thus  headed  :  "  To  that  which  was  done  in  the 
former  Impression,  thus  much  is  now  added,"  containing  a  state 
ment  of  the  improvements  in  this  impression.  The  principal  of 
these  is  the  addition  of  "  the  Treatise  called  lacke  Upland,"  and 
"  Chaucer's  A.B.C.,  called  La  Priere  de  Nostre  Dame." 


CHETTLE,  HENRY.  —  Englands  Mourning  Garment :  Worne 
heere  by  plaine  Shepheards,  in  memorie  of  their  sacred 
Mistresse,  Elizabeth  &c.  To  which  is  added  the  true 
manner  of  her  Emperiall  Funerall.  With  many  new  addi 
tions,  being  now  againe  the  second  time  reprinted  &c. 
After  which  followeth  the  Shepheard's  Spring-Song  for 
entertainment  of  King  James  &c.  —  Imprinted  at  Lon 
don  for  Thomas  Millington  &c.  1603.  4to.  24  leaves. 

The  variations  between  the  present  and  the  first  impression 
(which  came  out  without  date)  are  not  very  material :  the  princi 
pal  addition  consists  of  a  list  (preceding  "  the  Shepherd's  Spring 
Song")  of  the  twelve  barons  who  carried  "bannerols"  at  the 
funeral  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  There  is,  however,  an  omission  of 
some  importance,  for  in  the  first  edition  (without  date),  on  sign.  F 
3,  is  found  a  note  u  to  the  Reader,"  signed  by  the  author,  Henry 
Chettle  :  it  relates  to  the  errors  of  the  press,  which,  being  subse 
quently  corrected,  it  was  probably  considered  not  necessary  to 
reprint. 

The  dedication  is  "  to  all  true  lovers  of  the  right  generous 
Queene  Elizabeth  " ;  and  the  tract  commences  with  a  dialogue  in 
verse  between  Thenot  and  Colin,  the  author  figuring  himself  under 
the  latter  name,  although,  as  he  mentions  (when  quoting  Spenser 
on  sign.  D),  it  had  been  borne  by  Spenser.  A  sort  of  laudatory 


(Jnjjltslj  Citeratttt*.  161 

historical  discourse  follows,  and  forms  the  principal  subject ;  but 
near  the  centre  is  a  very  interesting  poem,  in  which  Chettle 
reproaches  all  the  principal  poets  of  the  day  with  their  silence  in 
offering  tribute  to  the  dead  Queen,  while  some  of  them  were  so 
eager  to  pay  their  court  to  the  living  King.  Daniel,  Warner, 
Chapman,  Ben  Jonson,  Shakspeare,  Drayton,  and  Dekker,  are 
all  distinctly  pointed  at,  although  their  names  are  not  inserted. 
Of  Shakspeare  he  speaks  as  follows  by  the  name  of  Melicert, 
whom,  on  sign.  B  3,  he  had  already  introduced  :  — 

"  Nor  doth  the  silver  tongued  Melicert  1 

Drop  from  his  honied  Muse  one  sable  teare 
To  mourne  her  death  that  graced  his  desert, 

And  to  his  laies  open'd  her  royal  eare. 
Shepheard,  remember  our  Elizabeth, 
And  sing  her  rape  done  by  that  Tarquin  Death." 

Chapman  is  spoken  of  as  Corin  "  that  finish'd  dead  Musseus 
gracious  song "  ;  Ben  Jonson  is  called  "  our  English  Horace " ; 
and  Dekker,  (Ben  Jonson's  adversary,)  "  quick  Anti-Horace": 
with  the  last  he  couples  "  young  Moelibee  his  friend,"  a  name  not 
easily  appropriated;  and  Henry  Petowe,  who,  in  1598,  had 
printed  "  the  second  part  of  Hero  and  Leander,"  and  is,  there 
fore,  styled  by  Chettle  "  Hero's  last  Musseus."  Daniel  is  distin 
guished  as  "  the  sweetest  song-man  of  all  English  Swains,"  and 
Warner,  author  of  "Albion's  England,"  as  having  "  sung  forty 
years  the  life  and  birth "  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  Drayton  is  dis 
tinctly  charged  with  having  welcomed  James  on  his  accession, 
before  he  had  deplored  the  loss  of  Elizabeth. 

"  The  Shepherd's  Spring  Song,"  in  gratulation  of  James  L,  occu 
pies  the  four  last  pages,  and  is  smoothly  written,  but  it  has  little 
other  recommendation:  the  following  is  one  of  the  earlier  stan 
zas,  where  Colin  is  endeavoring  to  rouse  the  sleeping  shepherds. 

"  The  gray  eyde  morning  with  a  blushing  cheeke, 
Like  England's  royal  rose,  mixt  red  and  white, 
Summons  all  eies  to  pleasure  and  delight. 
Behold,  the  evenings  deaws  doe  upward  reeke, 

1  We  may  here  notice  that  Melicertus  is  one  of  the  heroes  in  E.  Greene's 
"  Menaphon,"  1587 :  we  never  saw  any  edition  of  it  earlier  than  1589. 

YOL.  I.  11 


162  UibUograptjtcal  SUamnt  of 

Drawn  by  the  Sun,  which  now  doth  gild  the  skie 
With  his  light-giving  and  world-cheering  eie." 

In  both  editions  the  word  "  blushing "  in  the  first  of  these 
lines  is  printed  "  blustring,"  but  it  is  an  easy  and  an  obvious 
error. 

Besides  the  two  editions  bearing  the  name  of  Millington,  it 
appears  from  the  books  at  Stationers'  Hall,  that  Matthew  Lawe 
had  pirated  "  England's  Mourning  Garment,"  in  consequence  of 
which  he  was  ordered  by  the  Court  of  the  Company  to  bring  all 
the  copies  in,  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  20s.  This  circumstance  has 
only  recently  come  to  our  knowledge,  but  we  copy  the  following 
from  the  original  record. 

"  7  Junij  1603.  Math.  Lawe.  Yt  is  ordered  that  he  shall  pres 
ently  pay  xxs  for  a  fine  for  printinge,  contrary  to  order,  a  book 
called  England's  mourning  Garment,  beinge  Thomas  Millington's 
copie ;  and  that  he  shall  bring  into  the  hall,  as  forfayted  by 
thordonance,  all  such  numbers  of  the  said  bookes  as  now  remayne 
in  his  hand  unsold,  which  he  say  are  100  —  —  xxs  :  pd.  xvs." 

In  a  note  to  the  above  it  is  added,  that  Lawe  "  brought  in 
three  quarterns,  or  thereabouts,"  and  that  "  five  shillings  of  the 
fine  had  been  given  back  to  him."  No  copy  bearing  Lawe's 
name  is  known,  so  that  we  may  presume  they  were  all  destroyed. 


CHRIST'S  BLOODY  SWEAT.  —  Christ's  Bloodie  Sweat,  or 
the  Sonne  of  God  in  his  Agonie.  By  I.  F.  —  London. 
Printed  by  Ralph  Blower,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  his 
house  upon  Lambert  Hill.  1613.  34  leaves. 

We  are  unable  to  speculate  who  was  the  pious  author  of  this 
very  rare  poem :  his  initials  I.  F.  might  belong  either  to  Ford  or 
Fletcher,  but  the  style  is  altogether  unlike  theirs ;  and  the  writer's 
minute  acquaintance  with  Scripture  (constantly  quoted  in  his  mar 
gin),  together  with  the  general  force  of  his  expressions,  and  unhes 
itating  creed,  would  lead  to  the  supposition  that  he  was  a  zealous 
puritanical  divine.  The  dedication  is  to  the  Earl  of  Pembroke, 
but  it  contains  nothing  to  clear  up  the  doubt ;  and  the  address 


(fnglislj  Cittrature.  163 

"  to  such  as  shall  peruse  this  booke  "  only  speaks  of  the  manner 
in  which,  in  his  day,  "  poetry  was  in  every  way  made  the  herauld 
of  wantonnesse,"  so  that  "  there  is  not  now  any  thing  too  uncleane 
for  lascivious  rime."  Yet  I.  F.  owns,  near  the  commencement  of 
his  poem,  that  he  had  himself  "  spent  his  best  days  in  thriftless 
verse,"  and,  being  so  practised,  we  may  be  surprised  at  the  num 
ber  of  his  faulty  measures.  These  defects  may  in  part  be  owing 
to  the  printer,  whom  he  blames;  and  in  the  very  passage  we  have 
jast  quoted  "  thriftless "  is  misprinted  ihirstless :  in  other  places 
we  have  sinns  for  "  sums,"  anger  for  "  angry,"  and  wrath  for 
"  breath,"  which,  and  more,  are  left  for  the  discovery  of  the  reader, 
no  list  of  errata  being  furnished.  I.  F.  represents  the  Saviour  as 
thus  explaining  to  him  personally  the  cause  of  the  "  bloody  sweat," 
which  gives  title  to  the  poem :  he  is  speaking  of  his  divine 
Father ; 

"  The  charge  of  whose  hot  wrath  so  fearefull  was, 
As  against  Nature  chang'd  my  sweate  to  bloud; 
Which,  trickling  downe  my  cheekes  uppon  the  grasse, 
Well  tould  the  agony  wherein  I  stood : 

An  agony,  indeed,  whose  trembling  heate 

Powr'd  out  the  wonder  of  a  bloudy  sweate." 

The  whole  production  consists  of  319  such  stanzas  as  the  above  ; 
and  we  must  own,  in  spite  of  the  talents  and  ingenuity  of  the 
author,  that  many  parts  are  wofully  wearisome :  he  does  not 
attempt  any  flights  of  imagination,  but  ties  himself  down  to  the 
language  and  incidents  of  the  New  Testament,  with  various  refer 
ences  to  the  Old.  When  we  read  the  following  stanza,  with  its 
allusions  to  the  stage,  we  fancied  for  the  moment  that  the  poem 
might  have  been  by  John  Ford,  the  dramatist,  but  it  was  later 
in  his  career  that  he  wrote  productions  of  a  pious  and  moral  char 
acter,  and  in  other  respects  the  language  is  unlike  that  which  he 
would  have  been  likely  to  employ  :  — 

"  He  died,  indeed,  not  as  an  actor  dies, 
To  die  to-day  and  live  again  to-morrow, 
In  shew  to  please  the  audience,  or  disguise 
The  idle  habit  of  inforced  sorrow : 
The  Crosse  his  stage  was,  and  he  plaid  the  part 
Of  one  that  for  his  friend  did  pawne  his  heart." 


164  JSibltograptjical  2laomtt  of 

Near  the  close  the  author  supposes  a  parent  to  relate  to  his 
child  the  story  of  God's  mercy  and  man's  salvation,  introducing  it 
thus  simply  and  prettily  :  — - 

"In  after-times,  when  in  the  winters  cold 
Folkes  use  to  warme  them  by  their  nightly  fires, 
Such  parents  as  the  time  of  life  termes  old, 
Wasting  the  season,  as  the  night  requires, 

In  stead  of  tales,  may  to  their  children  tell 

What  to  the  Lord  of  Glorie  once  befell." 

The  writer  has  not  Father  Southwell's  impassioned  fervor  and 
eloquence ;  but  his  convictions,  of  a  different  character,  are  as 
strong,  and  his  faith  as  courageous. 


CHURCHYARD,  THOMAS.  —  A  Myrrour  for  man  where  in 
he  shall  see  the  myserable  state  of  thys  worlde.1 

1  In  1594,  Churchyard  published  another  work  under  a  similar  title, 
and  of  a  similar  character:  he  called  it  "  The  Mirror  of  Man,  and  man 
ners  of  Men,"  and  it  was  printed  "by  Arnold  Hatfield  for  W.  Holme." 
In  it  he  refers  to  "  a  little  booke  almost  fifty  years  ago  made  by  me,"  of 
which  we  might  suppose  that  that  of  1594  was  a  reprint;  but  they  are 
entirely  different,  and  the  "Mirror"  is  there  succeeded  by  what  is  thus 

entitled,  — 

"  Heere  follows  a  glance,  and  dash  with  a  pen 
On  worlds  great  mischance,  and  maners  of  men." 

It  was  dedicated  to  Sir  Eobert  Cecil,  and  is  not  by  any  means  so  offen 
sive  to  the  great  as  the  production  under  the  same  name  printed  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI.  The  method  is  the  same,  but  the  matter  different, 
as  may  be  seen  by  a  brief  quotation :  — 

"  Who  safely  will  goe,  or  surely  would  stand, 

Dwels  in  some  low  place,  and  walks  on  playne  land. 

These  mountaynes  are  hye,  and  hard  for  to  clime, 

Where  tempests  and  stormes  blowes  roughly  some  time. 

Great  trees  have  weake  bowes,  that  bends  at  each  blast ; 

Small  graffs  do  grow  long  and  stands  in  stock  fast. 

The  poore  sleeps  in  peace,  and  rise  in  great  rest. 

And  thinks  at  their  meate  ynough  is  a  feast. 

Brown  bread  unto  them  is  sweeter,  God  knowes, 

Then  manchet  to  some  that  goes  in  gay  cloes." 

Churchyard,  like  many  other  writers  of  that  day,  was  apparently  alto 
gether  careless  of  his  concords. 


(Engltsl)  Ctterature.  165 

The  above  is  the  whole  of  the  heading,  for  the  three  leaves  of 
which  the  piece  consists  have  no  title-page;  but  the  following  is 
the  colophon,  showing  that  it  was  printed  in  the  reign  of  Edward 

VI. :  — 

"  God  save  the  Kyng, 

"  Imprynted  at  London  by  Roberte  Toye,  dwellynge  in  Paules  churche 
yarde  at  the  sygne  of  the  Bell.  Cum privilegio  ad  Imprimendum  Soluni." 

Neither  Ames,  Herbert,  nor  Dibdin  include  it  among  the  pro 
ductions  of  Toy's  Press.  The  author,  in  his  old  age,  claimed  to 
have  commenced  writing  while  Edward  VI.  was  on  the  throne,  and 
he  continued  it  until  two  years  after  the  accession  of  James  I., 
exceeding  half  a  century  of  authorship.  He  seems  nearly  all  his 
life  to  have  been  a  struggler  against  poverty,  and  much  of  what 
he  says  in  this,  his  earliest  known  performance,  is  directed  against 
the  great  and  wealthy.  Such  is  the  case  with  the  two  following 
stanzas,  which  we  insert  as  a  specimen  of  a  work  of  only  172 
lines :  — 

"  Some  men  have  treasure  and  hartes  ease  at  wyll, 

Yet  ever  wyshing,  and  neare  hath  theyr  fyll: 
Soch  fylthy  lucre  enbraceth  theyr  hartes, 

So  that  thei  may  have,  thei  force  not  who  smartes; 
And  though  they  have  all,  yet  for  more  they  gape: 

They  drinke  both  the  wyne,  and  lokes  for  the  grape, 
Whych  maketh  the  poore  ryght  sore  to  lament, 

For  they  haue  nothing  but  dobble  rent. 

"  They  wold  wyn  theyr  fode  wyth  labour  and  sweat, 

Yet  all  wyll  not  helpe,  theyr  rent  is  so  great ; 
And  where  they  were  wont  to  upholde  a  plowe, 

Now  scarce  can  they  fynd  the  grasse  for  a  cowe. 
Theyr  childre  do  watche  as  haukes  for  their  praye, 

Yet  can  they  not  get  one  good  meale  a  daye. 
Soch  woful  morninge  as  is  in  Englande 

Was  never  before,  I  dare  take  in  hande." 

The  lines,  as  the  reader  will  perceive,  are  couplets,  but  they 
were  printed  by  Toye  as  eight-line  stanzas :  "  Finis  quod 
Thomas  Churschard  "  is  misprinted  at  the  end,  for,  with  all  his 
subsequent  peculiarity  of  spelling,  he  never  so  wrote  his  name. 


166  Bibliographical  Tlaount  of 

CHURCHYARD,  THOMAS.  —  The  Contention  bettwyxte 
Churchyeard  and  Camell,  vpon  Dauid  Dycers  Dreame 
sett  out  in  suche  order,  that  it  is  bothe  wyttye  and 
profitable  for  all  degryes.  Rede  this  littell  comunica- 
tion  betwene  Churchyarde :  Camell :  and  others  mo. 
Newlye  Imprinted  and  sett  furthe  for  thy  profyt  gentyll 
Reader.  —  Imprinted  at  London  by  Owen  Rogers  for 
Mychell  Loblee  dwelynge  in  Paulls  churchyeard.  Anno 
M.D.LX.  4to.  28  leaves. 

Nobody  has  yet  given,  at  all  correctly,  either  the  title  or  con 
tents  of  this  rare  book  :  it  was  reprinted  in  1565,  but  we  never 
heard  of  more  than  one  copy  of  each  edition.  In  his  "  Chance," 
printed  in  1580,  Churchyard  informs  us  that  many  of  these  pro 
ductions  were  "  written  in  the  beginnyng  of  Kyng  Edwardes 
raigne,"  and  most  of  the  original  broadsides  (for  in  that  form  the 
various  pieces  first  appeared)  are  in  the  library  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries.  The  subjoined  is  an  accurate  list  of  all  that  were 
republished  in  a  collected  form  in  the  work  under  consider 
ation  :  — 

1.  The  Preface  (probably  by  Churchyard,  but  without  signa 

ture). 

2.  Dauy  Dycars  Dreame. 

3.  To  Dauid  dicars  when. 

4.  A  Replication  vnto  Camels  Obiection. 

5.  Camels  Reioindre  to  Churchyarde. 

6.  The  Surreioindre  vnto  Camels  reioindre. 

7.  A  Decree  betwene  Churchyarde  and  Camell. 

8.  Westerne  Wyll  vpon  the  debate  betwyxte  Churchyarde  and 

Camell. 

9.  Dauye  Dikers  dreme  (an  enlargement  of  No.  1,  adding  to  it 

twice  as  much). 

10.  Of  such  as  on  fantesye  decree  and  discus:  on  other  mens 

workes,  lo  Ovides  tale  thus  (This  is  the  contest  of  Pan  and 
Apollo,  subscribed  T.  Hedley). 

11.  A  supplication  vnto  mast.  Camell  (subscribed  "Your  daily 

Belman  at  your  maundement,  Good  man  Gefferay  Chap- 
pell  of  whipstable") . 


Citerature.  167 

1 2.  To  goodman  Cliappels  supplication  (signed  Thomas  Camell). 

1 3.  Steuen  Steple  to  mast.  Camell. 

14.  Camelles  Conclusion  (signed  Thomas  Camell). 

15.  Westerne  will  to  Camell  and  for  him  selfe  alone,  although 

hee  leudly  lust  to  knitte  vp  three  in  one  (signed  W. 
Watreman). 

16.  A  plain  and  fynall  confutation  of  camelles  corlyke  obla- 

tracion. 

1 7.  Camelles  crosse  rowe. 

Such  are  the  contents  of  the  4to  of  1560,  but  to  these  is  to  be 
added  a  broadside  of  greater  interest  and  importance,  but  upon 
the  same  subject,  which  seems  to  have  employed  many  of  the  wits 
and  versifiers  of  the  time.  It  is  by  no  less  a  person  than  the 
famous  ballad-maker,  William  Elderton  (here  called  Ilderton), 
and  it  is  upon  a  unique  broadside  :  it  seems  to  have  been  Elder- 
ton's  earliest  appearance  in  print,  which  renders  it  additionally 
curious.  It  has  for  title  the  same  as  No.  7  in  the  preceding  enu 
meration,  namely,  "A  Decree  betwene  Churchyarde  and  Camell," 
and  the  imprint  is,  "  Imprinted  at  London  by  Richard  Haruy, 
dwellyng  in  Fosterlane,"  without  date  ;  and  possibly  it  did  not 
come  out  until  after  the  publication  of  the  volume  the  title-page 
of  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this  article.  It  consists  of  133 
lines,  all  printed  upon  one  side  of  a  large  sheet,  the  back  of 
which  is  blank.  It  begins  thus :  — 

"  A  decree  vpon  the  dreame  made  by  Dauy  Dicar 
Wyth  answer  to  Camell,  whose  tautes  be  more  quicker." 

This  couplet  forms  a  sort  of  title,  after  which  we  read  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

"  Wher  Dicar  hath  dreamed  of  things  out  of  frame, 
And  Churchyard  by  writing  affirmeth  the  same, 
And  Camell  contendeth  the  same  to  deface, 
And  therfore  hath  put  hys  doynges  in  place, 
Sythe  both  of  those  twayne  hath  set  foorth  in  myter 
The  wordes  of  the  Authour,  the  skyl  of  the  wryghter, 
And  runne  in  thys  race,  styl  chaffyng  the  bytte, 
I  thynke  in  this  case  much  more  then  is  fytte." 

Elderton  then  proceeds  to  state  the  case,  and  after  quoting 


168  Bibliographical  3Uamnt  of 

Cato,  and  translating  the  passage,  we  come   to   a  new  head 
ing,— 

"  The  Judgement  of  the  Authour," 

which  ends  with  these  lines  and  the  signature  of  the  writer :  — 
"  Take  me  to  the  best,  as  one  to  you  vnknowen 

Whose  worthy  wyts  I  do  comend  &  wold  w*  you  be  one : 
Not  mindyng  so  assuredly  to  spende  and  waste  the  daye 
To  make  the  people  laugh  at  me,  &  here  I  make  astaye. 
Finis  quod  W.  Ilderton." 

Although,  perhaps,  all  the  productions  forming  this  celebrated 
"flyting"  may  have  been  preserved,  much  of  the  humor  which 
belonged  to  the  contest  has  certainly  not  survived  the  day  when 
it  took  place. 


CHURCHYARD,  THOMAS.  —  A  sad  and  solemne  Funerall 
of  the  right  Honorable  sir  Francis  Knowles  knight,  treas- 
orer  of  the  Queenes  Maiesties  houshold,  one  of  her  priuie 
cotmcell,  and  knight  of  the  most  honorable  order  of  the 
Garter.  Written  by  Thomas  Churchyard  Esquier.  — 
Imprinted  at  London  by  Ar.  Hatfield,  for  William 
Holme.  1596.  4to.  4  leaves. 

This  unique  tract  is  dedicated  to  Lord  Delawarr,  whom  Church 
yard  calls  the  son-in-law  to  Sir  Francis  Knowles :  the  poet  here 
speaks  of  his  own  "  aged  years,"  and  refers  to  the  number  of  dis 
tinguished  persons  who  had  died  within  a  very  short  period  before 
he  wrote.  On  this  point  he  places  the  following  remarkable  obit 
uary  !  in  a  marginal  note  opposite  his  first,  second,  and  third 

1  We  may  add  a  list  of  no  fewer  than  18  "  Epitaphs  "  upon  different  in 
dividuals,  which  Churchyard  had  written  before  1580 :  it  is  taken  from  his 
"  Pleasant  Laborinth,  called  Churchyardes  Chance  framed  in  Fancies," 
published  in  that  year:  he  states  that  they  were  "alreadie  printed,"  but 
could  not  be  inserted  in  his  book  as  they  were  "  out  of  his  handes." 

1.  "The  Epitaph  of  Kyng  Henry  the  eight. 

2.  The  Earle  of  Surries  Epitaphe. 

3.  The  Lord  Cromwell's  Epitaphe. 

4.  The  Ladie  Wentworth's  Epitaphe. 


(Jmrlj)  (£ngli0lj  Ctorature.  169 

stanzas : — "  In  the  compasse  of  one  yeere  there  died  of  the 
cleargy,  of  the  wars,  and  honorable  councellers,  so  many  Bysh- 
ops,  Captaines  and  Governours  whose  names  follow  heerafter. 
Bishop  of  London  D.  Fletcher.  Bishop  of  Winchester.  Bishop 
of  Chichester  D.  Bycklie.  Bishop  of  Chester  D.  Byllyt.  D.  Whit- 
akers  Master  of  S.  Johns  in  Cambridge.  Captaines,  Sir  Martyn 
Furbyshar.  Sir  Roger  Williams.  Sir  T.  Morgan.  Sir  Fr.  Drake. 
Sir  I.  Hawkins.  Sir  N.  Clifford.  The  Earle  of  Huntingdon.  The 
Lord  Delaware.  Honorable  Councellers,  Sir  T.  Henneage.  Sir 
I.  Wolley.  Sir  I.  Puckering  L.  Keeper.  Sir  Francis  Knowles. 
The  L.  Chamberlaine." 

Churchyard  is  not  a  poet  who  possessed  any  imagination,  nor 
are  his  thoughts  novel  or  striking :  his  language  is  often  below  his 

5.  The  Lorde  Graies  of  Wilton  his  Epitaphe. 

6.  The  Lorde  Poinynges  Epitaphe. 

7.  Maister  Audleis,  the  greate  Souldiours  Epitaphe. 

8.  The  worthie  Captaine  Randall's  Epitaphe. 

9.  Sir  Edmond  Peckham's  Epitaphe. 

10.  Sir  James  Wilforde's  Epitaphe. 

11.  Sir  John  Wallope's  Epitaphe. 

12.  Sir  George  Peckham's  first  wives  Epitaphe. 

13.  The  Erie  of  Penbrokes  Epitaphe. 

14.  The  Counteis  of  Penbrokes  Epitaphe. 

15.  The  Lord  Henry  Dudleis  Epitaphe. 

16.  Sir  John  Pollardes  Epitaphe. 

17.  The  Lorde  of  Delvins  Epitaphe. 

18.  The  Epitaphe  of  Maistresse  Pennes  daghter,  called  Maistresse  Gifforde. 
"  And  many  other  gentilmen's  and  gentilwomen's  Epitaphes  that  presently  I 
neither  can  remember,  nor  get  into  my  handes  againe." 

Doubtless  nearly  all  these  had  originally  come  out  as  broadsides,  and 
were  scattered  beyond  the  reach  of  the  author.  He  adds  some  "  Verses 
that  weare  given  to  a  moste  mightie  personage,"  meaning  the  Queen,  and 
they  are  solely  devoted  to  his  own  actions  and  disappointments:  they 

begin, — 

"  0  pearless  Prince  !  if  penne  had  purchast  praise, 
My  parte  was  plaid  long  since  on  publicke  stage, 
Sith  leaden  worlde  disdaines  the  golden  dales  : 
With  face  of  brasse  men  must  go  through  this  age. 
Though  Poetts  prate  like  parret  in  a  cage, 
Poore  Tom  male  sitte  like  crowe  upon  a  stone, 
And  cracke  harde  nuttes,  for  almonds  sure  are  gone." 
The  whole  is  very  lugubrious  and  pitiful,  but  the  author  remained  poor 

and  penniless  (not  penless)  for  many  long  years  afterwards. 


170  Bibliographical  Account  of 

subject,  but  his  versification  is  usually  flowing,  and  his  reflections 
frequently  just  and  natural.  The  subsequent  stanza  is  as  good  as 
any  in  this  production  :  — 

"  But  yet,  good  knight,  the  lamp  and  torch  of  troeth, 
Sir  Francis  Knowles,  I  can  not  so  forget. 
Thogh  corse  to  church,  and  soule  to  heaven  goeth, 
And  body  needs  must  pay  the  earth  his  det, 
Good  will  of  men  shall  wait  upon  thy  toem, 
And  Fame  hir  selfe  thy  funerall  shall  make, 
And  register  thy  name  till  day  of  doem 
In  booke  of  life  for  thy  great  vertues  sake. 
Thy  frends  shall  mourne,  not  with  long  clokes  of  black, 
But  with  sad  looks  of  doell  behinde  thy  back." 

Eight  other  similar  stanzas  compose  the  whole  of  the  tract,  of 
•which,  probably,  only  a  very  few  copies  were  printed  for  presenta 
tion  to  the  nobility,  or  persons  in  office,  who  were  likely  to  reward 
the  author. 


CHURCHYARD,  THOMAS.  —  A  wished  Reformation  of  wicked 
Rebellion.  Newly  set  foorth  by  Thomas  Churchyard 
Esquier.  —  Imprinted  at  London  by  Thomas  Este,  dwell 
ing  in  Aldersgate  Street.  1598.  4to.  4  leaves. 

In  no  list  of  Churchyard's  productions  is  this  little  poetical  tract 
included.1  It  clearly  grew  out  of  the  Irish  Rebellion,  which  Rob 
ert  Earl  of  Essex  very  shortly  afterwards  was  sent  to  Ireland  to 
subdue,  upon  whose  departure  Churchyard  wrote  a  "  Fortunate 
Farewell,"  and  whose  return  he  greeted  in  a  "  Welcome  Home," 
both  dated  1599.  It  is  the  cause  of  the  Earl's  going  that  is  treated 
in  the  work  before  us,  which,  as  will  be  seen  above,  bears  date  in 
the  preceding  year.  It  only  occupies  a  single  sheet  4to,  and,  in 
order  to  include  it  in  that  compass,  the  dedication  "  To  all  the 
right  noble  of  birth,  or  mynd,  with  the  true  hartted  gentlemen,  and 
loyall  subjects  of  England,"  is  printed  at  the  back  of  the  title- 
page.  The  whole,  prose  dedication  and  poetical  appeal,  is  in 

1  We  ought  to  have  made  an  exception  in  favor  of  the  list  supplied  by 
the  industrious  G.  Chalmers,  who  mentions  it  in  his  "  Churchyard's  Chips 
concerning  Scotland."  8vo.  1817.  p.  63. 


ffiarlg  (ffngltsl)  Citcratan.  171 

Churchyard's  peculiar  spelling,  so  that  sometimes  it  is  not  easy  to 
see  at  once  the  word  he  intends  to  use  :  thus  virtuous  is  spelt 
"  vertuos,"  often  "  offtten,"  look  "  loek,"  perilous  "  parrelos,"  &c. 
He  tells  the  reader,  "  If  thear  wear  no  other  president,  maek 
lerland  an  example  what  cursed  callamitees  aer  set  a  broetch  by 
theas  wicked  and  unwelcom  cawsis,  canckers  in  a  common  weall, 
blayns  and  blotchis  in  a  sound  body,  and  gnawing  worms  and 
caetter  pillars  to  every  honest  hart."  He  therefore  prays  them 
"  with  pacyence  and  sweet  consitheracion  (and  no  sowre  senssuer) 
read  what  followeth  in  rnield  manner  of  vers,  albeit  somewhat 
byetting  the  gawlls  of  such,  whoes  wounds  cannot  be  healed,  but 
by  som  sharp  and  serening  medson." 

As  the  copy  we  have  used  is  unique,  we  will  make  a  few 
extracts  equally  uncouth,  and  not  very  edifying,  but  bearing  in 
mind  that  the  author  in  1599  was  a  very  old  man,  although  he 
continued  "  to  palter  up  something,"  in  prose  or  verse,  almost  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  born  at  Shrewsbury  about  1520, 
and  was  buried  at  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster,  4th  April,  1604.1 
His  "  Wished  Reformation  of  wicked  Rebellion"  opens  with  this 
stanza :  — 

"  Good  men  wear  glad  at  Gods  great  glorie  seen 
(By  speshall  grace)  on  Englands  joy  to  shyen, 
Which  grace  prezarvd  our  quinttesenssed  Queen 
That  skaeped  saef  from  skaeth  throw  power  deuien. 
0  falls  forsworn,  what  ear  you  aer,  giue  place 

i  We  are  obliged  to  Eobert  Cole,  Esq.,  F.  S.  A.,  for  the  following  copy  of 
Churchyard's  nuncupative  will,  dated  only  a  few  days  before  his  death: 
it  was  obtained  from  a  dealer  in  waste-paper,  into  whose  hands  it  acci 
dentally  came. 

"  Thome  Churchyard. 

Memorandum  the  xxixth  of  Martch,  Anno  1604.  Thomas  Churtchyard,  Esquier, 
beinge  of  perfecte  mynde  and  memorye,  did  dispose  of  his  worldlye  goods  as  fol 
loweth,  in  the  presence  of  us  hearunder  written.  Firste  he  gave  to  his  brother 
Geordge  the  some  of  xxli.  All  the  reste  of  his  goods  and  chatties  he  gave  unto 
Geordge  Puslowe,  whom  he  made  his  executor,  that  he  should  see  him  buryed  like 
a  Jentlemane.  &  me  Nathaniell  Mathewe. 

Gabriel  Pope. 

The  marke  of  X  Jone  Moore. 
Silvester  P  Earlums  marke." 
"  Proved,  8th  April,  1604." 


172  Bibliograpljtcat  JUccmnt  of 

To  mightty  lovs  Lieftenant  heer  on  earth. 

0  haetfull  flock  of  traytors,  held  your  face 

From  rightfull  Kings  and  Queens  well  boern  by  byrth. 

Fy,  tretcheros  trash  that  wind  will  bio  a  way, 

Pluck  vp  your  sight,  and  see  your  own  decay." 

Besides  his  strange  spelling,  Churchyard  has  a  peculiarity  in  his 
punctuation,  for  he  places  a  comma  after  the  fourth  syllable  of 
every  line,  as  a  caesura,  whether  the  sense  do  or  do  not  require  it : 
we  will  illustrate  this  point  in  another  stanza  where  the  old  poet 
assails  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  especially  the  Jesuits:  — 
"  Hee  preached  peace,  you  sow  discord  and  war, 
All  duety  done,  to  Sesar  Cryst  dyd  lyek, 
But  you  in  rage,  and  errors  run  so  far 
Yee  care  not  whom,  yee  poyson,  kill  or  stryek, 
A  shamelesse  swarm,  off  Seminaries  now 
Disgisd  lyek  dogges,  that  whine  before  they  bite, 
Fills  euery  towne,  with  truthlesse  traytors  throw, 
Whoes  words  lyke  swords,  are  ready  drawne  to  smite, 
But  bio  of  Axe,  comes  oft  ere  they  bee  waer, 
And  stryeks  of  head,  and  leaues  the  body  baer." 

Independently  of  punctuation,  he  observes  no  consistency,  the 
very  same  word  being  spelt  in  different  ways  in  different  places.  All 
the  stanzas  are  in  the  spirit  of  those  we  have  quoted,  without  a 
particle  of  information  ;  and  very  near  the  conclusion  Churchyard 
inveighs  against  the  "  sedishoes  books  and  sawsy  lybels  "  circulated 
so  industriously  by  the  Queen's  enemies.  At  the  end  we  read 
"  Finis  qd Thomas  Churchyard" ;  and  so  desirous  does  he  seem  to 
have  been  that  his  name  should  not  be  passed  over  by  the  reader, 
that  it  appears,  in  one  form  or  other,  upon  nearly  every  page. 


CHURCHYARD,  THOMAS.  —  The  Wonders  of  the  Ayre,  the 
Trembling  of  the  Earth,  and  the  warnings  of  the  world 
before  the  Judgement  day.  Written  by  Thomas  Church 
yard  Esquire,  seruant  to  the  Queenes  Majestic.  —  Im 
printed  at  London  by  Thomas  Dawson.  1602.  4to- 
12  leaves. 
In  both  editions  of  Lowndes's  Bibl.  Man.  it  is  stated  that  this 


<£arlt)  (Enjlislj  Citcrature.  173 

tract  is  prose  :  a  considerable  part  of  it  is  verse,  and  the  title  is 
there  given  incorrectly.  It  is  personally  interesting  because  the 
writer,  in  his  dedication  to  M.  D.  Sesar,  (i.  e.  Master  Doctor 
Cassar,  afterwards  Sir  Julius  Csesar,)  acknowledges  his  obligations 
to  him  for  "  the  little  that  I  live  upon,  and  am  likely  to  die 
withall."  Hence  no  doubt  the  title  Churchyard  here  assumes  of 
"  servant "  to  the  Queen.  Here,  too,  he  states  that  he  had  trans 
lated  part  of  Pliny,  but  that  "  a  great  learned  doctor,  called  doc 
tor  Holland,"  had  translated  the  whole  ;  and  in  fact  it  had  come 
out  in  1601.  To  this  succeeds  "  The  generall  Epistle  to  the 
Reader,"  in  two  pages  of  long  rhymes ;  and  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the 
Creed  and  Decalogue  are  added  in  verse,  the  whole  being  wound 
up  by  another  page  of  poetry  headed  "  Verses  fitte  for  every  one 
to  knowe  and  confesse."  The  historical  portion  of  the  tract  is, 
very  consistently,  in  prose. 


CHURCHYARD,  THOMAS.  —  Churchyard's  Good  Will.  Sad 
and  heavy  Verses,  in  the  nature  of  an  Epitaph  for  the 
losse  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  lately  deceased, 
Primate  and  Metropolitane  of  all  England.  Written  by 
Thomas  Churchyard,  Esquire.  —  Imprinted  at  London 
by  Simon  Stafford,  dwelling  in  Hosier  lane,  neere  Smith- 
field.  1604.  8vo.  8  leaves. 

This,  as  far  as  we  know,  was  the  last  production  of  its  author. 
In  his  "  Charge,"  4to,  1580,  he  tells  us  that  he  had  been  "servant '' 
to  the  celebrated  Lord  Surrey  ;  and  we  find  by  his  "  Fortunate 
Farewell,"  4 to,  1599,  that,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  he  had  been 
brought  before  the  Privy  Council  for  one  of  his  writings,  when  he 
was  befriended  by  the  Duke  of  Somerset. 

There  is  another  piece  by  Churchyard,  dated,  like  the  present^ 
1604,  "  A  blessed  Balme  to  search  and  salve  Sedition,"  but  it  was 
produced  some  time  before  the  tract  under  consideration  :  it  relates 
to  the  execution  of  Watson  and  Clarke,  in  November,  1603,  while 
Archbishop  Whitgift  did  not  die  until  February,  1604.  Church 
yard  was  himself  buried,  as  we  have  stated,  the  4th  of  April,  1604. 


174  Bibliographical  Account  of 

Whitgift  was  succeeded  by  Bancroft  Bishop  of  London,  and  to  that 
prelate  Churchyard  dedicates  his  "  Good  Will."  The  following  is 
the  last  stanza  of  this  author's  last  poem  :  — 

"  Croydon  can  shew  his  works,  life,  laud  and  all; 
Croydon  hath  lost  the  Saint  of  that  sweet  shrine : 
Lambeth  may  cry,  and  Canterbury  may  call 
Long  for  the  like  with  wofull  weeping  eyne ; 
But  few,  I  feare,  his  like  are  left  alive, 
The  more  our  griefe  —  a  great  King  so  did  say. 
Death  stole,  like  theefe,  the  hony  from  the  hive: 
Our  great  Primate  in  patience  went  away, 
Left  stately  Court  and  Countrey  at  the  best, 
Because  he  hop't  to  sleepe  in  Abrahams  brest." 

The  "  great  King  "  was  James  I.,  who  deeply  lamented  the  loss 
of  Archbishop  Whitgift.  The  eight  leaves  composing  the  tract 
are  printed  only  on  one  side,  and  the  poem  is  in  six  stanzas.1  No 
other  copy  of  it  is  known.  In  this  tract  Churchyard  abandons 
the  peculiar  mode  of  spelling  observed  in  many  of  his  other  pro 
ductions. 

1  Churchyard  had  sufficient  attainments  in  Latin  to  induce  him  to  at 
tempt,  and  to  perform  to  a  certain  extent,  a  translation  of  Ovid's  De 
Tristibus.  It  came  from  the  press  of  Thomas  Marsh  in  1580,  but  there  is 
no  edition  of  1578,  mentioned  by  Dr.  Bliss  in  his  edition  of  Wood's  Ath. 
Oxon.  I.  734.  Another  perfect  copy  does  exist,  besides  that  in  Earl  Spen 
cer's  Library.  At  the  back  of  the  title-page  comes  "  The  occasion  of  this 
Booke,"  and  on  the  next  page  the  dedication  "To  his  most  assured  and 
tryed  Friende  Maister  Christopher  Hatton,  Esquire,  Thomas  Churchyarde 
wysheth  contiuuaunce  of  Vertue,"  in  which  he  familiarly  calls  the  ded 
icatee  "  good  maister  Hatton."  Here  he  mentions  what  he  intended  to  be 
the  contents  of  the  second  part  of  his  "Chips":  — "In  my  first  hooke 
shalbe  three  Tragedies,  two  Tales,  a  Dreame,  a  description  of  Frendship, 
a  Farewell  to  the  Court,  the  Siege  of  Leeth,  and  sondry  other  thinges  that 
are  already  written.  And  in  my  seconde  Booke  shalbe  foure  Tragedies, 
ten  Tales,  the  Siege  of  Saint  Quintaynes,  Newhaven,  Calleis  and  Guynes; 
and,  I  hope,  the  rest  of  all  the  forrein  warres  that  I  have  seene,  or  heard 
of,  abroade  shall  follow  in  another  volume."  The  first  part  of  Church 
yard's  "  Chips  "  had  come  out  in  1575,  but  we  never  saw  a  copy  of  it. 
We  are,  of  course,  not  to  understand  "Tragedies"  in  the  popular  sense 
of  the  word,  hut  merely  as  tragical  narratives:  in  this  view  Churchyard's 
"  Shore's  Wife,"  originally  published  in  "  The  Mirror  for  Magistrates," 
and  much  enlarged  by  him  in  1593,  was  a  "  tragedy." 


(Earln  (frnglislj  Citeratitre.  175 

CHURL  AND  THE  BIRD.  —  Here  foloweth  the  Churle  and 
the  byrde.     n.  d.     B.  L.     4to.     8  leaves. 

This  title  is  above  a  woodcut  of  two  male  figures,  one  in  a  flow 
ing  robe,  and  the  other  in  a  cloak,  doublet,  and  hose :  between 
them  is  a  tree  with  a  bird  upon  it.  The  colophon  is,  "  Thus 
endeth  the  treatyse  called  churle  &  the  byrde.  Printed  at  Can 
terbury  in  saynte  Paules  parysshe  by  Johan  Mychel." 

This  tract  was  first  printed  by  Caxton,  and  twice  by  Wynkyn 
de  Worde,  (vide  Dibdin's  Typ.  Ant.  I.  307,  and  II.  325,)  but 
both  Wynkyn  de  Worde 's  editions  are  unlike  the  present,  regard 
ing  which  Herbert  had  obtained  some  hint  from  a  note  by  Ritson. 
Dr.  Dibdin  says,  "at  p.  1779,  vol.  in.,  he  (Herbert)  notices  an 
edition  of  it  without  date,  printed  by  one  Johan  Nychel,  [not 
Nychol,]  on  the  authority  of  a  MS.  note  by  Ritson."  This, "  one 
Johan  Nychel,"  is,  of  course,  Johan  Mychel,  but  no  bibliographer 
seems  to  have  been  aware  that  this  popular  tract  was  printed  at 
Canterbury.  Besides  the  woodcut  on  the  title,  it  differs  in  many 
respects  from  the  editions  by  Wynkyn  de  Worde,  as  may  be  seen 
by  comparing  only  the  opening  stanza,  as  here  printed,  with  that 
given  by  Dr.  Dibdin  :  — 

"  Problemes  of  olde  lykenesse  and  fygure, 
Which  proved  ben  fructuous  of  sentence, 
And  have  auctorites  grounded  in  scripture 
By  resemblaunce  of  notable  aparaunce3 
With  moralities  concludynge  on  prudence; 
Lyke  as  the  byble  reherseth  by  wrytynge 
How  trees  somtyme  chose  them  a  kynge." 

If  Dr.  Dibdin's  statement  be  correct,  that  in  Wynkyn  de 
Worde's  editions  the  poem  contains  fifty-two  seven-line  stanzas, 
and  another  of  eight  lines,  by  way  of  "  Lenvoye,"  there  is  a  very 
material  variation  beyond  typographical  changes  ;  for,  in  Mychel's 
edition,  printed  at  Canterbury,  there  are  fifty-four  seven-line 
stanzas,  besides  the  terminating  stanza  of  eight  lines. 

The  author  avows  that  the  work  is  only  a  translation :  — 

"  And  here  I  cast  on  my  purpose 
Out  of  frenche  a  tale  to  translate, 
Which  in  a  pamflete  I  saw  and  redde  but  late;  " 


176  Bibltograpljtcal  2lccctmt  of 

and  it  has  usually  been  attributed  to  Lydgate,  (Ritson's  Bibllogr. 
Poet.  69,)  although  his  name  is  nowhere  mentioned  in  it.  After  a 
sort  of  prologue  of  six  stanzas,  vindicating  the  poetical  license  of 
giving  speech  to  birds  and  beasts,  the  main  subject  of  the  per 
formance  thus  commences :  — 

"  Somtyme  there  dwelled  in  a  small  vylage, 
As  myn  auctor  maketh  mencyon, 
A  churle  which  had  lust  and  corage 
Within  hym  selfe  by  dyligent  travayle 
To  aray  his  garden  with  notable  aparayle, 
Of  length  and  brede,  in  lyke  square  and  longe, 
Hedged  and  dytched  to  make  it  sure  and  stronge." 

Here  the  second  line,  "  As  myn  auctor  maketh  mencyon,"  is 
clearly  wrong,  for  the  last  word,  according  to  the  construction  of  the 
stanzas,  ought  to  rhyme  with  "  travayle  "  :  it  ought  to  run,  "As  myn 
auctor  maketh  rehersayle"  The  moral  is  very  prettily  conveyed. 
The  Churl,  morning  and  evening,  hears  a  Bird  sing  joyously  in  a 
laurel-tree  in  his  garden  :  he  catches  it  in  a  trap,  and  is  about  to 
cage  it,  when  the  Bird  remonstrates,  declares  it  cannot  sing  except 
ing  when  free,  and  promises,  if  the  Churl  will  first  set  it  at  liberty, 
to  give  him  three  most  valuable  pieces  of  advice.  The  Churl 
agrees,  and  the  Bird,  flying  to  its  tree,  warns  the  Churl  against 
credulity,  against  impossible  desires,  and  against  immoderate  grief 
for  anything  irrecoverably  lost.  The  Bird  follows  up  its  advice 
by  laughing  at  the  Churl  for  letting  it  escape,  seeing  that  it  has  a 
precious  stone  within  it,  which  would  make  him  inexhaustibly 
rich,  &c.  The  Churl  bitterly  grieves  that  he  has  given  so  rare  a 
creature  its  liberty,  and  the  Bird  proceeds  to  show  him  how  little 
he  has  profited  by  the  three  pieces  of  advice  he  had  received,  the 
Bird  having  in  fact  no  such  treasure  concealed  within  it.  The 
fable  terminates  with  these  stanzas  :  — 

"  Ye  folke  that  shall  this  fable  se  or  rede, 
Newe  forged  tales  I  counseyle  you  to  fle ; 
For  losse  of  gooddes  take  never  to  great  hede, 
Nor  be  nat  sory  for  none  adversyte ; 
Nor  covete  thynge  that  may  not  recovered  be; 
And  remembre  where  ever  ye  gone, 
That  a  churles  byrde  is  ever  wo  begonne. 


177 

"  Unto  my  purpose  this  proved  is  fully  ryve: 
Rede  and  reporte  by  olde  remembraunce, 
That  a  churles  byrde,  and  a  knaves  wyfe 
Have  oftentymes  great  sorow  and  myschaunce : 
And  who  that  hath  fredome  hath  all  suffysaunce; 
For  better  is  fredome  with  lytel  in  gladnesse, 
Than  to  be  thrall  with  all  worldly  rychesse." 

"  The  Churl  and  the  Bird  "  is  reprinted  in  Ashmole's  Theatrum 
Chemicum,  1652,  under  the  title  of  "Hermes  Bird."  Pyiison 
printed  an  edition  of  it,  not  mentioned  by  Dibdin  ;  and  the  origi 
nal,  or  what  may  have  been  the  original,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Latin  Gesta  Romanorum,  No.  167.  A  modernization  of  it  is  in 
serted  in  Way's  Fabliaux. 


CLIMSELL,  HENRY.  —  Londons  Vacation,  And  The  Coun 
tries  Tearme.  Or  A'  lamentable  relation  of  severall 
remarkable  passages  which  it  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to 
shew  on  severall  persons,  both  in  London,  and  in  the 
Country  in  this  present  Visitation,  1636.  With  the 
number  of  those  that  dyed  at  London  and  Newcastle, 

this  present  yeare.     With  new  Additions.     By  H.  C. 

London,  Printed  for  Richard  Harper,  and  are  to  be  sold 
at  his  shop  in  Smithfield,  at  the  Hospitall  Gate,  1637. 
8vo.  12  leaves. 

The  author  of  this  singular  tract,  or  more  properly  chap-book, 
was  a  well-known  writer  of  ballads  in  the  reigns  of  James  and 
Charles  I.,  and  he  seems  to  have  survived  until  after  the  Restora 
tion.  Most  of  his  productions,  all  of  which,  as  far  as  they  are 
known,  are  of  a  temporary  character,  bear  only  his  initials, 
but  upon  some  his  name,  Henry  Climsell,  is  inserted  at  length. 
We  do  not  find  "  Londons  Vacation  "  anywhere  mentioned,  yet 
the  words  on  the  title-page,  "  with  new  additions,"  would  indicate 
that  it  had  been  printed  before.  Excepting  the  address  "  To  the 
Reader,"  and  a  particular  account  of  the  deaths  by  the  Plague  in 
London  and  Newcastle  (which  seems  to  have  been  specially 

VOL.  i.  12 


178  Bibliographical  Account  of 

afflicted,  the  deaths  there  amounting  in  1636  to  more  than  5000, 
while  in  London  they  were  27,000),  it  is  entirely  in  verse. 

It  consists  principally  of  anecdotes  connected  with  the  preva 
lence  of  the  Plague,  and  it  is  called  "  London's  Vacation  and  the 
Country's  Term,"  because  at  such  times  it  was  usual  to  adjourn 
the  term,  and  to  hold  the  courts  of  law  out  of  town,  at  St.  Albans, 
Hertford,  and  other  places.  The  comprehensive  woodcut  on  the 
title-page  refers  to  some  of  the  chief  incidents  narrated  by  the 
author:  Time  stands  in  the  foreground  with  his  scythe  and  a 
child  in  his  arms ;  and  near  him  is  seen  a  man  escaping  over  a 
brick  wall,  who  had  been  mistakenly  placed  for  dead  under 
a  coffin :  in  the  background  is  a  Sexton  digging  a  grave  for  a 
person  who  is  on  his  knees  praying ;  and  not  far  removed  is 
a  dead  man,  fully  clothed,  lying  on  his  back. 

The  most  remarkable  part  of  the  tract  is  an  account  of  a  cold- 
water  cure  for  the  plague,  so  early  had  its  virtues  been  discovered, 
and  applied  in  precisely  the  same  way  as  of  late  years.  A  gen 
tleman  travelling  in  the  country  discovers,  to  his  dismay,  that  he 
had  "  God's  tokens,"  i.  e.  "  blue  spots  "  upon  his  arm :  — 

"  He  spurs  his  horse,  and  speedily  he  rides 
To  the  next  toun,  and  there  all  night  abides. 
But  yet  before  he  went  to  bed,  'tis  said, 
In  's  chamber  he  a  goode  fire  causde  be  made : 
So,  when  the  Chamberlain  had  made  a  fire, 
A  payle  of  water  he  did  then  desire : 
Then  cal'd  he  for  the  best  sheet  in  the  Inne, 
The  which  he  wet,  and  wrapt  himself  therein. 
The  sheet  being  wet,  and  he  stark  naked  in  it, 
About  his  body  he  did  strait  way  pinne  it; 
Which  being  done,  away  to  bed  he  went. 
The  morning  being  come,  and  the  night  spent, 
He  foiind  himself  well,  and  his  body  cleare 
From  all  those  spots  which  before  did  appeare." 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  cure  was  effected  by  the  profuse 
perspiration  occasioned  by  the  wet  sheets ;  but  Clirasell,  in  the 
true  spirit  of  modern  brandy-drinking  unbelief,  exclaims,  — 

"  But  yet  my  doctor  he  shall  never  be; 
Such  physick,  sure,  would  be  the  death  of  me ;  " 


<£arltj  <£nglislj  Citcratan.  179 

and  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  had  strong  reasons  for  disliking 
water.  He  adds,  what  is  as  curious  as  the  rest,  that  the  gentleman 
having  prudently  procured  the  sheet  to  be  buried,  it  was  "covet 
ously  dug  up,"  and  those  concerned  in  the  operation  died  of  the 
plague  caught  from  the  infected  linen.  Various  other  stories  are 
narrated,  and  the  precise  dates  are  given  to  some  of  them.  Under 
the  bead  of  "  The  Belmans  call,  or  Thursday  morning,"  we  have 
the  following :  — 

"  This  day  the  weekly  Bils  come  out, 
To  put  the  people  out  of  doubt 
How  many  of  the  Plague  do  dye: 
We  summe  them  up  most  carefully. 
But,  oh,  if  our  transgressions  all, 
Both  how  we  sinne  and  how  we  fall, 
God  should  take  notice  what  they  are, 
Where  should  we  sinfull  men  appeare  V 
We  look  upon  the  punishment, 
But  not  upon  the  cause  'tis  sent: 
Eemove  the  cause,  &  you  shall  see 
The  Plague  shall  soon  removed  be." 

The  last  part  of  the  production  consists  of  a  didactic  poem  or 
song,  with  the  burden,  "  The  Lord  have  mercy  on  us  all,"  from 
which  its  character  may  easily  be  guessed.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  materials  of  the  tract  were  hastily  collected,  and  as 
hastily  put  together,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  temporary  sale 
during  the  prevalence  of  infection. 


CLINTON,  PURSER  AND  ARNOLD.  —  Clinton,  Purser  and 
Arnold  to  their  Countreymen  wheresoeuer.  Wherein  is 
described  by  their  own  hands  their  vn feigned  penitence 
for  their  offences  past :  their  patience  in  welcoming  their 
Death,  and  their  duetiful  minds  to  wardes  her  most 
excellent  Maiestie.  —  London  Imprinted  by  lohn  Wolfe 
and  are  to  be  sold  at  the  middle  shop  in  the  Poultry, 
ioyning  to  S.  Mildreds  Church.  4to.  B.  L.  6  leaves. 


180  JJibliograpljkal  Account  of 

Only  two  copies  of  this  poetical  tract  are,  we  believe,  at  pres 
ent  known,  one  of  them  having  come  to  light  very  recently. 

It  is  not  easy,  perhaps  not  possible,  to  settle  the  date,  but  we 
may  place  it  either  in  1590  or  soon  afterwards,  and  we  know  that 
at  least  two  of  the  persons  named  above  were  hanged  as  pirates 
late  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  They  are  characters  who  are  led  out 
to  execution  in  T.  Hey  wood's  drama,  "  Fortune  by  Land  and 
Sea,"  which,  although  not  printed  until  1655,  was  unquestionably 
written  while  Elizabeth  was  still  upon  the  throne.  Our  Chroni 
clers  and  Camden  are  silent  regarding  them,1  and  one  of  them, 
called  Walton,  alias  Purser,  in  our  tract,  is  named  Tom  Watton 
in  the  play. 

Three  copies  of  verses  are  included  in  the  six  pages,  each  of  the 
prisoners  being  supposed  (we  take  it  for  granted  that  they  were 
not  the  real  penmen)  to  contribute  his  share  just  before  death. 
Walton  begins  (at  the  back  of  the  title  to  save  room,  and  to  make 
the  publication  cheap)  and  gives  thirteen  seven-line  stanzas. 
Arnold  follows  with  sixteen  stanzas  in  the  same  form ;  and  Clin 
ton  concludes  with  fourteen  similar  stanzas —  all  three  clearly  by 
one  hand.  Walton  opens  with  an  address  to  "  Lordings  that  list 
to  heare  a  dreary  tale,"  and  thus  narrates  how  they  came  to  be 
captured :  — 

"  Two  lofty  saile  from  out  the  lovely  East 

it  was  our  hap  unhappy  to  descry : 
I  wish  they  had  bene  further  in  the  West, 

when  gracelesse  we  to  greete  them  came  so  nie ; 
but  who  fares  well  whome  Fortune  doth  defie  ? 
We  stoupt,  we  strake,  and  valid  when  we  had  seene 
The  Armes  of  Englande  and  our  noble  Queene." 

He  ends  with  these  lines  :  — 

"  As  for  my  selfe  I  owe  a  due  to  Death, 

and  I  respect  it  not  in  that  I  die ; 
Onely  the  manner  of  my  losse  of  breath 
is  cause  that  I  for  some  compassion  cry. 
My  soule  is  sav'd,  where  ere  my  body  lie. 

1  This  is  a  mistake.  Stow  mentions  the  execution  of  Walton  and  Cliu- 
ton  on  30th  August,  1583,  which  therefore,  no  doubt,  was  the  date  of  the 
tract. 


®nglt0Ij  Citeratar*.  181 

This  makes  me  sigh  —  that  faith  unto  my  frend 
Hath  brought  me  thus  to  this  untimely  end. 

Thomas  Walton,  alias  Purser." 

Arnold  informs  us  that  he  was  "  an  aged  man  of  no  great  per 
sonage,"  and  that  he  was  by  birth  a  gentleman  of  Hampshire :  he 
accuses  a  priest  of  being  the  cause  of  his  misfortune,  by  robbing 
him  of  his  farm  and  other  property,  and  then  compelling  him  to 
take  to  the  sea  and  piracy  for  a  maintenance.  Clinton  dwells  in 
his  effusion  upon  the  fickleness  of  Fortune  :  — 

"  Welth,  worldly  wit,  ambition  or  renowne, 
nor  ought  on  earth  so  permanent  abides, 

But  fickle  Fortune  sometime  puls  them  down : 
so  vaine  we  are,  so  soone  our  honor  slides, 
so  trustlesse  she  whose  mirth  to  mischiefe  glydes! 

Our  paines  endure,  our  pleasures  are  but  short; 

But  what  availes  the  heedlesse  to  exhorte?  *  *  * 

"  Then  give  me  leave  to  breath  abroad  my  moanes, 
whose  life  or  death  my  Prince  may  take  or  give; 

And  though  they  stand  like  stockes  and  senseles  stones, 
whome  I  have  holpe  whilst  I  in  hap  did  live, 
and  sooner  might  have  fild  an  emptie  sive, 

The  time  hath  bene  when  they  to  please  me  prest; 

But  now  they  dare  not,  cause  I  am  distrest." 

It  seems  certain  that,  although  three  different  names  are  ap 
pended  to  the  several  poems,  they  were  all  written  by  one  man, 
and  that  man,  as  we  conclude,  some  professional  scribe,  who  took 
occasion,  on  the  trial  and  conviction  of  the  three  pirates,  to  com 
pose  a  tract  that  would  command  a  sale  from  the  interest  and  noto 
riety  of  the  subject. 


COKAYNE,  Sm  ASTON.  —  A  Chain  of  Golden  Poems, 
embellished  with  Wit,  Mirth  and  Eloquence.  Together 
with  two  most  excellent  Comedies,  viz,  The  Obstinate 
Lady,  and  Trappolin  suppos'd  a  Prince.  Written  by  Sr. 
Aston  Cokayn.  —  London,  Printed  by  W.  G.  and  are  to 
be  sold  by  Isaac  Pridmore.  1658.  8vo.  262  leaves. 


182  Bibltograpfjtcal  2Uamnt  of 

The  above  is  the  general  title  to  this  volume,  and  it  is  followed 
by  a  particular  title  to  the  shorter  pieces  :  —  "  Small  Poems  of 
Divers  Sorts.  Written  by  Sir  Aston  Cockain  —  London  Printed 
by  Wil.  Godbid,  1658."  «  The  Author's  apology  to  the  Reader" 
serves  by  way  of  preface,  and  to  it  are  added  commendatory 
verses  by  Tho.  Bancroft,  and  a  list  of  errata.  The  poems  then 
begin  with  "  a  Remedy  for  Love,"  and  fill  two  hundred  and 
eighty-four  pages.  "  The  Obstinate  Lady,"  and  "  Trappolin  sup- 
pos'd  a  Prince,"  have  distinct  titles,  but  the  paging  and  signa 
tures  are  continued  to  the  end.  The  author's  "  Tragedy  of  Ovid  " 
was  not  added  to  his  other  plays  until  1662. 


COKE,  JOHN.  —  The  Debate  betwene  the  Heraldes  of  Eng- 
lande  and  Fraunce,  compyled  by  Ihon  Coke,  clarke  of 
the  kynges  recognysaunce,  or  vulgerly  called  clarke 
of  the  Statutes  of  the  staple  of  Westmynster,  and 
fynyshed  the  yere  of  our  Lord  M.D.L.  B.L.  8vo.  94 
leaves. 

The  colophon,  whimsically  given  by  the  author  in  four  lan 
guages,  runs  thus  :  —  "  Fynished  by  me  John  Coke  Le  dernier  Jour 
Doctobre,  Den  yaer  ons  here  duisent  vij'f  hundred  negen  en  vier- 
tich.  Finis  Laudat  opus.  And  Imprynted  by  me  Rycharde  Wyer, 
and  be  to  be  solde  at  his  shop  in  Poules  churche  yearde.  Cum  pri~ 
vilegio  ad  imprimendum  solum."  Hence  we  learn  that  the  book  was 
finished  by  the  author  on  the  last  day  of  October,  1549,  and  printed 
by  Wyer  (though  nowhere  enumerated  among  the  productions  of 
his  press)  l  in  1550.  At  the  back  of  the  title  are  three  woodcuts, 
representing  Lady  "  Prudence,"  (whom  the  author  addresses) 
"  The  frenche  Heralde,"  and  "  The  englyshe  Heralde." 

The  author  purports  to  have  written  his  book  in  answer  to  one 
he  met  with  in  Brussels,  in  which  a  French  Herald  exalted  his 
country  above  England.  The  Herald  of  France,  as  may  be  ex- 

1  It  is  given  by  Dibdin  (Typ.  Ant.  IV.  238)  with  a  reference  to  his  Bib 
liomania,  p.  13.  We  inadvertently  derived  this  error  from  the  Bridgew. 
Catalogue,  1837,  p.  66. 


a  (Englislj  Cteature.  183 

pected,  is  here  worsted  at  every  point,  and  Coke  does  not  scruple 
to  introduce  among  historical  worthies  Guy  of  Warwick,  (quoting 
Lydgate  as  one  of  his  authorities,)  and  Bevis  of  Hampton :  of  the 
last  he  says  the  story  was  extant  in  English,  Dutch,  and  French. 
Farther  on  he  enumerates  among  the  "great  clerks"  of  this 
country,  Chaucer,  Gower,  Lydgate,  Bongay,  Grosdon,  Payee, 
Lylly,  Lynacre,  Tunstall,  Latymer,  Hoper,  and  Coverdale  ;  and 
then  adds,  —  "Also  we  have  dyvers  gentylwomen  in  Englande, 
whiche  be  not  onely  well  estudied  in  holy  Scrypture,  but  also  in 
the  Greke  and  Latyn  tonges.  As  maystres  More,  maystres 
Anne  Coke,  maystres  Clement,  and  other,  beynge  an  estraunge 
thing  to  you  and  other  nacions."  "  Maystres  More  "  was  the 
daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  and  she  had  "  disputed  of  philoso 
phy  "  before  Henry  VIII.  (Vide  Hist.  Engl.,  Dram.  Poetry,  and 
the  Stage,  I.  113.) 

The  author  winds  up  his  work  with  eight  stanzas  of  verse, 
headed,  "  The  Message  sent  by  John  Coke,  compyler  of  this  smale 
treatyse,  to  such  as  be  enemyes  to  our  soveraygne  Lord  Kynge 
Edwarde  the  vi.  and  to  his  Realmes  of  Englande  and  Irlande." 
The  following  is  the  sixth  stanza  :  — 
"  Drowned  be  he  as  was  Narcisus, 

Or  syxe  monethes  kepte  in  a  a  Cage  syngynge 

By  Lameth,  Belsabub,  Pluto  and  Aserberus, 

That  wolde  hurte  to  our  noble  yonge  kynge, 

Edwarde  the  syxte,  not  yet  twelve  yeares  olde, 

Precioser  to  Englande  then  stone  or  golde. 

Lorde,  preserve  his  hyghnes  from  traytours  popishe! 

To  whom  prosperous  helth  cordyally  I  wysshe, 

With  longe  lyfe,  and  that  his  puyssaunt  hande 

Maye  subdue  the  vyle  nacion  Scottysshe, 

Whiche  desyre  the  dystmccion  of  Englande." 

In  the  next  stanza  he  expresses  his  hope  that  every  enemy  of 
England  may  be  boiled  in  a  caldron,  like  the  maid  in  Smithfield 
for  poisoning  her  master,  and  concludes  by  a  stanza  in  French, 
mentioning  the  death  of  James  IV.  of  Scotland,  and  the  slaughter 
of  Porrex,  which  in  1561  was  made  the  subject  of  a  tragedy  by 
Sackville  and  Norton,  and  was  printed  in  8vo,  1565,  under  the 
title  of  "  Gorboduc." 

Coke  was  unknown  to  Kitson  and  other  poetical  antiquaries, 
and  we  learn  nothing  of  his  personal  history. 


184  Btbliograpljical  2Uamnt  of 

COLLINS,  THOMAS. — The  Teares  of  Love  :  or  Cupids  Prog- 
resse.  Together  with  the  complaint  of  the  sorrowfull 
Shepheardesse,  fayre  (but  unfortunate)  Candida,  deplor 
ing  the  death  of  her  deare-lov'd  Coravin,  a  late  living  (and 
an  ever  to  be  lamented)  Shepheard.  In  a  (passionate) 
pastorall  Elegie.  Composed  by  Thomas  Collins,  &c.  — 
London,  Printed  by  George  Purslowe  for  Henry  Bell. 
1615.  4to.  28  leaves. 

The  word  "  Shepherd  "  having  formerly  been  synonymous  with 
u  Poet,"  this  piece  was  published  to  celebrate  the  death  of  one  of 
the  "  fraternity  of  featherbrains."  Who  was  meant  by  Coravin 
it  is  not  perhaps  possible  now  to  ascertain,  and  the  only  point  which 
could  at  all  lead  to  the  discovery  is,  that  the  author  informs  us 
(p.  20)  that  he  died  on  St.  Peter's  day :  — 

"  Untill  the  time  that  he  was  clad  in  clay, 
Which  (woe  is  me)  was  on  St.  Peter's  day." 

Of  Coravin's  skill  in  poetry  Collins  speaks  as  follows  :  — 

"  Then  Candida  (awhile)  lay  teares  aside, 
And  tell  what  love-tricks  did  in  's  life  betide: 
Tell  how  hee'd  sit,  and  pipe  so  prettily 
That  all  Swaines  joy'd  to  heare  his  harmonic. 
Each  Nimph  and  Shepheardesse,  that  now  remains 
In  any  of  these  neighbouring  groves  or  plains, 
From  fountaines  and  from  fieldes  would  flock  with  speed, 
To  heare  him  play  upon  his  Oeten  Reed; 
And  as  they  daily  used  for  to  doe, 
So  would  the  Satyrs  and  the  Dreiads  too. 
How  oft  have  I  my  milke-white  flocke  forsooke,          > 
And  slily  stolne  downe  to  a  silent  brooke, 
My  Coravins  sweet  Songs  and  Oads  to  heare, 
When  he  (poore  Soule)  thought  little  I  was  there." 

The  main  subject  of  the  poem  is  the  apologue  of  Cupid  exchang 
ing  arrows  with  Death,  upon  which  elegant  fancy  James  Shirley 
wrote  a  drama,  and  which  in  various  shapes  has  been  treated  in 
French,  Spanish,  and  Italian. 

The  poem  is  full  of  unnatural  and  forced  conceits,  and  possesses 
very  little  pastoral  simplicity,  with  much  feebleness  and  dilation. 


g  (Engltsl]  Citcratitre.  185 

The  opening,  where  Collins  describes  himself  following  some  gar 
lands  thrown  upon  a  stream,  is  the  best  part  of  the  work.  At  the 
end  the  author  apologizes  for  his  imperfections,  praises  Sidney, 
Spenser,  and  Drayton,  and  alludes  to  Lodge. 

But  two  other  copies  of  this  production  are  believed  to  exist. 
The  dedication  is  to  Lady  Haddington,  where  the  author  men 
tions  "  some  of  his  braines  best-borne  issues,"  which  were  yet 
concealed  ;  and  it  is  followed  by  fourteen  lines  "  to  those  Readers 
that  can  and  will  conceive  reason." 

Commendatory  verses,  signed  Jo.  B[eaumont  ?],  thus  refer  to 
other  productions  by  our  author  :  — 

"From  Newports  bloudy  battell  (sung  by  thee) 
With  Yaxley's  death  (the  flow'r  of  Chivalry) 
As  from  thy  well-pen' d  Publican,  to  bee 
Transported  thus  to  fields  of  Arcady, 
Shews  that  thy  Muse  is  apt  for  all  assayes,"  &c. 

The  "  well-pen'd  Publican  "  is  the  subject  of  our  next  article, 
but  of  the  two  other  pieces  we  know  nothing.  The  preliminary 
matter  concludes  with  two  stanzas  by  Samuel  Rowlands  "  to  his 
affected  friend  Master  Thomas  Collins." 


COLLINS,  THOMAS.  —  The  Penitent  Publican,  his  Confes 
sion  of  Mouth.  Contrition  of  heart.  Unfained  Re 
pentance.  And  fervent  Prayer  unto  God  for  Mercie 
and  forgivenesse.  —  At  London,  Printed  for  Arthur 
Johnson,  dwelling  in  Paules  Churchyard,  at  the  signe 
of  the  white  Horse,  neere  the  great  Northdoore  of 
Paules  Church.  1610.  4to.  25  leaves. 

This,  of  course,  is  the  poem  referred  to  by  Jo.  B.  in  his  lines  at 
the  close  of  the  preceding  article.  Its  extreme  rarity  forms  its 
chief  claim  to  notice.  The  dedication,  subscribed  Thomas  Collins, 
and  dated  6  of  July,  1610,  is  to  the  Countess  of  Huntington,  where 
he  commends  to  her  protection  his  "  illiterate  and  little- worth 
labour,"  as  he  calls  it,  with  some  affected  diffidence.  However,  it 
must  be  admitted  to  be  superior  to  his  later  and  feebler  work  in 


186  BibUograptjical  Account  of 

earnestness,  which  sometimes  almost  rises  to  eloquence  :  the  Pub 
lican  in  one  place  exclaims  :  — 

"  Lord !  I  no  presents,  no  oblations  bring, 

Onely  my  selfe  I  offer  unto  thee: 
A  broken  heart  is  all  my  offering, 

The  which,  although  it  far  unworthy  bee, 
Yet,  Lord,  accept  it;  for  behold,  and  see, 
In  true  devotion  and  in  perfect  zeale, 
I,  prostrate  here,  for  mercy  do  appeale." 

The  printer  seems,  here  and  there,  to  have  done  the  author  in 
justice,  and  in  the  last  line  doth  is  put  for  "  do."  Another  stanza, 
the  latest  of  the  whole,  is  as  much  as  may  be  required  in  the  way 
of  specimen :  — 

"  As  thou  art  holy,  heare  my  prayer,  Lord! 

As  thou  art  good  and  gracious  pittie  mee: 
As  thou  art  true  and  faithfull  of  thy  word 
Forgive  my  sins  (though  infinite  they  bee) 
And  let  me  live  to  laud  and  honour  thee ; 
To  whom  be  given  all  glory,  power,  and  praise 
Even  to  the  end  of  never-ending  daies." 

Of  Collins  nothing  appears  to  be  known,  and  in  these  two  pro 
ductions  of  his  pen  he  affords  us  no  personal  information :  he 
takes  pains,  however,  to  inform  Lady  Huntington  in  his  dedication 
that  he  is  no  Puritan  ;  and  he  adds  a  sonnet  "  To  the  Reader 
whatsoever,"  which  has  no  merit  of  any  kind. 


COLMAN,  W.  —  La  Dance  Machabre,  or  Deaths  Duel.  By 
W.  C.  —  London  Printed  by  William  Stansby.  n.  d. 
8vo.  44  leaves. 

This  poem,  in  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  six-line  stanzas,  is 
without  date ;  but,  as  the  author  complains  at  the  end,  that  one 
Roger  Muchill  had  anticipated  his  second  title  of  "  Deaths  Duel " 
by  printing  a  Sermon  of  Dr.  Donne's  under  it,  which  Sermon 
bears  date  in  1633,  we  need  not  hesitate  in  fixing  "  La  Dance 
Machabre"  either  in  that  year  or  in  the  year  following.  Not 
more  than  three  or  four  copies  appear  to  be  known  of  it. 


tt  flrngltslj  Citcrature.  187 

The  title  is  excellently  engraved  by  T.  Cecil,  and  facing  it  are 
some  lines  headed,  "  The  mind  of  the  Front."  The  dedication  is 
in  French  prose,  A  la  Royne,  and  the  tendency  of  the  work  may 
be  seen  by  what  the  author  says  of  it :  pour  ayder  aux  hommes 
pervertis  de  cest  siecle  corrompu  a  retourner  de  I'insolence  a  la 
crainte  du  del,  et  de  la  debauche  a  la  raison  —  a  considerable 
task  for  "  an  unpractised  youth,"  as  he  calls  himself  in  some  pre 
liminary  lines  signed  W.  Colman.  To  this  succeeds  "  The  Author 
to  his  Book,"  and  commendatory  verses  by  John  Peashall,  E.  H., 
Thomas  Veridicus,  James  Sherlie,  and  John  Crompton.  Opposite 
the  commencement  of  the  work  is  another  plate  of  Death  with  a 
spade,  leaning  his  elbow  upon  a  rotten  post,  with  this  motto  above, 
Sum  quod  eris.  Fui  quod  es,  and  a  translation  in  a  couplet  at  the 
bottom.  The  principal  poem  consists  of  a  series  of  not  very  novel 
moral  reflections,  without  order  or  system. 

Appended  to  the  main  poem  are  Elegies  upon  the  Earl  of 
Shrewsbury,  the  Marchioness  of  Winchester,  Lord  Paget,  and  Sir 
John  Beaumont,  the  poet.  A  fragment  of  another  edition  seems 
to  be  in  existence. 


CONSTABLE,  HENRY.  —  Diana.  The  praises  of  his  Mis- 
tres,  in  certaine  sweete  Sonnets.  By  H.  C.  —  London, 
Printed  by  I.  C.  for  Richard  Smith  :  and  are  to  be  sold 
at  the  West  doore  of  Paules.  1592.  4to. 

Few  men  of  his  day  enjoyed  a  higher  reputation,  especially  as 
a  sonnet-writer,  than  Henry  Constable ;  yet,  as  far  as  is  known, 
it  was  built  upon  a  very  narrow  foundation  :  the  above  is  the  title- 
page  of  the  only  separate  work  with  which  his  name  is  connected ; 
and  bibliographers  were  until  lately  ignorant  of  the  existence  of 
such  an  edition :  they  apprehended  (Ritson,  Bibl.  Poet.  172)  that 
the  impression  of  1594  was  the  earliest.  On  this  account  we  shall 
describe  the  one  before  us  more  minutely,  although  the  pieces  it 
contains  (with  one  important  exception)  were  again  printed  in 
1594  (not  1584),  1597,  and  1604.  All  editions  are  of  extreme 
rarity,  but  that  of  1592  is  unique. 

The  dates  of  Constable's  birth  and  death  are  alike  uncertain, 


188  Bibltograpljical  ^Icrount  of 

but  having  been  born  towards  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen 
tury,  he  survived  into  the  seventeenth,  so  that  he  flourished  in  the 
time  of  Shakspeare,  Spenser,  Dray  ton,  and  Daniel :  his  first  work 
appeared  in  the  same  year  as  the  earliest  production  of  the  last  of 
these  distinguished  poets,  and  his  effusions  were  exposed  to  power 
ful  competition.  Our  notion  is,  contrary  to  the  received  opinion, 
that  he  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  but  there  is  no  distinct  evidence 
upon  the  point,  beyond  the  fact  that  he  seems  to  have  been  in 
great  favor  with  our  James  I.,  and  that  he  had  employed  himself 
to  write  sonnets  in  that  monarch's  praise,  and  especially  of  his 
"Poetical  Exercises "  when  they  were  printed  at  Edinburgh  in 
1591.  Constable  was  an  avowed  Roman  Catholic,  and  on  account 
of  his  faith  early  retired  to  the  Continent,  and  remained  for  some 
years  abroad  :  he  travelled  in  Poland  and  in  Italy,  and  letters 
from  him  are  extant  dated  from  Rouen  in  1596  and  from  the 
Tower  in  1604.  It  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  edition  of  his  Sonnets 
of  1592,  that  they  are  all  numbered  in  Italian,  from  Sonnetto 
Pn'mo,  to  Sonnetto  Ultimo  ;  and  though  none  of  them  are  trans 
lations,  they  savor  much  of  the  flowers  and  soil  where  some  of 
them,  in  all  probability,  were  composed.  At  all  events,  they  are 
in  form  more  after  the  Italian  model  than  the  sonnets  of  most  of 
Constable's  contemporaries.  They  are  rather  elegant  than  im 
passioned. 

The  following  sonnet,  for  some  unexplained  reason,  was  never 
reprinted  after  1592,  and  it  there  immediately  follows  the  title- 
page,  and  precedes  a  brief  address  from  the  Printer,  or  Stationer, 
of  which  we  shall  speak  presently. 

"  TO  HIS   ABSENT  DlANA. 

"  Sever'd  from  sweete  Content,  my  lives  sole  light, 

Banisht  by  over-weening  wit  from  my  desire, 

This  poore  acceptance  onely  I  require, 
That  though  my  fault  have  forc'd  me  from  thy  sight, 
Yet  that  thou  wouldst  (my  sorrowes  to  requite) 

Review  these  Sonnets,  pictures  of  thy  praise; 

Wherein  each  woe  thy  wondrous  worth  doth  raise, 
Though  first  thy  worth  bereft  me  of  delight. 

See  them  forsaken ;  for  I  them  forsooke, 
Forsaken  first  of  thee,  next  of  my  sence : 

And  when  thou  deignst  on  their  blacke  teares  to  looke, 


(ffarlw  (Ewjlislj  Ctterattir*.  189 

Shed  not  one  teare,  my  teares  to  recompence; 
But  joy  in  this  (though  Fates  gainst  me  repine) 
My  verse  still  lives  to  witnes  thee  divine." 

These  fourteen  graceful  lines  are  quite  equal  to  any  others  in 
the  small  volume ;  and  some  private  cause,  to  which  we  have  no 
clue,  must  have  prevented  their  reappearance.  The  address  "  to 
the  Gentlemen  Readers  "  was  also  never  repeated  ;  but  it  is  not 
necessary  to  say  more  of  it  than  that  it  speaks  of  the  sonnets  as 
"  orphans,"  as  if  the  father  were  dead  ;  the  explanation  probably 
being  that  Constable  had  at  this  date  withdrawn  to  France,  and 
had  thus  deserted  his  literary  progeny.  Richard  Smith,  the  sta 
tioner,  substituted  in  1594  a  sonnet  of  his  own  to  the  Queen's 
Maids  of  Honor  for  his  prose  address,  and  there  again  he  speaks 
of  Constable's  "  orphan  poems." 

The  edition  of  1592  contains  only  22  sonnets,  and  after  Ultimo 
Sonnetto  we  read,  at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  the  catch-word 
"  Blame,"  with  which,  in  fact,  Sonnetto  terzo  had  begun.  Hence 
we  might  suppose  that  the  impression  is  incomplete :  but  a  small 
piece  of  paper  seems  originally  to  have  been  pasted  over  "  Blame," 
as  if  this  copy  of  the  "  Diana  "  had  been  intended  to  comprise  no 
more.  It  may  so  have  happened  that  Constable  was  obliged  to 
quit  the  country,  on  account  of  his  religious  tenets,  while  his 
poems  were  actually  going  through  the  press,  and  that  on  this 
account  Smith  put  forth  the  "  orphans  "  without  the  accompani 
ment  of  their  brothers  and  sisters,  which,  being  added  to  the  family 
in  1594,  made  in  the  whole  76  sonnets.  That  number  was  not 
afterwards  increased.1 


COPLAND,  ROBERT.  —  Jyl  of  Breyntfords  testament.  Newly 

compiled.     4to.     B.  L.     8  leaves. 

It  is  a  new  fact,  connected  with  this  ancient  piece  of  broad  and 
coarse  humor,  that  it  was  twice  printed  by  William  Copland :  in 
one  impression  it  is  called  "  Jyl  of  Braintfords  Testament,"  and  in 

1  In  1859  Mr.  W.  C.  Hazlitt  published  a  selection  of  Constable's  Son 
nets,  and  introduced  them  by  a  judicious  memoir,  which  contains  nearly 
all  that  is  known  of  the  author. 


190  BtbUogrcipIjtcal  3Ucctmt  of 

the  other  as  we  have  spelt  it  above.  The  colophon  is  still  more  dif 
ferent,  for  in  one  it  stands  merely  "  Imprinted  at  London  by  me 
William  Copland,"  and  in  the  other,  "  Imprented  at  London  in 
Lothbury  over  agaynst  Saint  Margarytes  church  by  me  Wyllyam 
Copland."  The  literal  variations  are  innumerable,  and  sometimes 
important :  thus  in  one  we  are  told  that  Jyl  of  Brentford  was  "  a 
widow  of  a  holy  sort,"  and  in  the  other  that  she  was  "  a  widow  of 
a  homly  sort  "  :  again,  "  pastyme  "  is  changed  to  pastaunce,  and 
"  chyet "  to  cheef,  the  last  being  probably  right,  as  it  refers  to  the 
condition  of  a  "  scroll,"  or  manuscript,  the  "  chief"  of  which  was 
"  clene  defaced."  We  take  it  for  granted  that  the  edition  which 
has  Tiomly  for  "  holy,"  and  cheef  for  "  chyet  "  is  the  latest,  and  that 
the  corrections  were  made  when  the  piece  was  set  up  in  William 
Copland's  workshop  for  the  second  time.  None  of  our  typograph 
ical  historians  or  bibliographers  have  made  us  aware  of  these  and 
many  other  changes  of  text,  because  they  were,  as  we  believe, 
ignorant  that  there  existed  more  than  one  impression  of  the  tract. 

Robert  Copland,  who  had  been  an  [assistant  to  Wynkyn  de 
Worde,  avows  himself  the  author  of  "  Jyl  of  Breyntfords  testa 
ment  "  ;  but,  according  to  our  modern  notions  of  decorum,  and 
even  of  decency,  there  is  little  to  be  proud  of  in  it.  It  is  certainly 
in  some  parts  very  shrewd  and  droll,  but  it  is  impossible  for  us, 
without  gross  offence,  to  give  an  accurate  notion  of  its  import  and 
contents.  William  Copland,  who  printed  it,  was  in  all  likelihood 
younger  brother  to  Robert  Copland,  who,  after  the  death  of  his 
master  and  instructor,  Wynkyn  de  Worde,  followed  the  same  busi 
ness,  and  dying  about  1547,  left  it  to  William  Copland,  who  car 
ried  it  on  at  all  events  until  1561  ;  but  some  of  the  most  curious 
and  amusing  productions  of  his  press  have  no  dates,  and  may  have 
come  out  later.  Robert  Copland,  besides  "  Jyl  of  Breyntfords 
testament,"  in  a  covert  manner  admitted  his  authorship  of  a  tract, 
printed  by  Wynkyn  de  Worde  without  date,  called  "  The  Com- 
playnte  of  them  that  ben  to  late  maryed : "  his  two  names  form  an 
acrostic  just  preceding  the  last  stanza :  this  too  is  a  fact  not  noticed 
by  bibliographers,  and  only  recently  pointed  out  to  us. 

"  Jyl  of  Breyntfords  testament "  is  introduced  by  what  is  called 
the  "  Prologus  of  Robert  Copland  the  auctor,"  so  that  there  can 
be  no  mistake  upon  that  point :  his  "  Complaynte  "  about  late  mar- 


<£ngUslj  Cittratuu.  191 

riage  was  unquestionably  a  translation  from  the  French,  but  his 
"Jyl  of  Breyntford's  testament "  must  have  been  original,!  and 
certainly  displays  no  great  refinement,  whatever  may  be  said  of 
its  humor :  humor  of  the  lowest  description  it  certainly  contains  in 
abundance,  and  such  as  in  many  cases  it  is  impossible  to  transfer 
to  our  pages.  The  commencement  of  the  Prologus  may  indeed  be 
quoted,  and  we  give  it  from  what  must  have  been  the  second  and 
amended  impression :  — 

"  At  Brentford,  on  the  west  of  London, 
Nygh  to  a  place  called  is  Syon, 
There  dwelt  a  widow  of  a  hornlv  sort, 
Honest  in  substaunce  and  full  of  sport. 
Dally  she  cowd  with  pastim  and  Jestes 
Among  her  neyghbours  and  her  gestes : 
She  kept  an  Ine  of  ryght  good  lodgyng 
For  all  estates  that  thider  was  comyng. 

It  chaunced  this  wydow,  as  it  is  supposed, 
In  her  sport,  and  meryly  dysposed, 
After  her  deth,  for  a  remembraunce, 
Thought  to  have  some  matter  of  pastaunce, 
For  people  to  laugh  at  in  suche  company 
As  are  dyposed  to  talke  meryly, 
Mengled  with  many  proper  scoffes  and  boordes, 
Of  sondry  tauntes,  with  some  mery  woordes, 
The  which  I  have  hard  at  many  seasons, 
Full  of  pastyme  with  prety  reasons." 

Robert  Copland  then  quotes  a  proverb  of  anything  but  a  deli 
cate  kind,  the  application  of  which  he  jestingly  demonstrates  by 
the  assistance  of  one  John  Hardysay,  whom  he  accidentally  meets 
in  Brentford.  They  adjourn  "  to  the  red  lyon  at  the  shambles 
end"  (showing  how  ancient  a  sign  it  is  in  that  town)  for  the  pur 
pose  of  discussing  the  proverb,  and  "  a  pot  of  good  ale."  Hardv- 

i  The  first  notion  of  "Jyl  of  Breyntford's  Testament  "  may,  however, 
have  been  derived  from  Chaucer's  "  Sompner's  Tale,"  where  the  sick 
man,  Thomas,  bestows  a  corresponding  legacy  upon  the  friar,  whose 
cupidity  is  similarly  disappointed:  — 

"  The  frere  up  starte,  as  dothe  a  wode  lyon  : 
A,  false  chorle  !  (qd  the  frere)  for  Goddes  bones, 
This  haste  thou  in  dispyte  do  for  the  nones,"  &c. 


192  SibUograpljical  Account  of 

say  pretends  to  have  discovered  the  origin  of  the  proverb  in  an 
"  old  scroll  "  :  he  says,  — 

"  And  truly  now  is  come  to  my  mynde, 
Not  long  ago  how  I  dyde  fynde 
An  old  scrow,  all  ragged  and  rent : 
Beseming  it  is  some  mery  entent, 
And  dy  vers  say  that  do  it  rede 
But  gallaunt  toyes  there  semes  in  dede: 
It  is  so  antick  broken,  and  so  raced, 
That  all  the  cheef  is  dene  defaced. 
Take  it;  and  I  pray  thee  hartyly 
Loke  theron,  and  yf  thou  espy 
That  it  be  of  any  substaunce 
Of  myrth  or  of  honest  pastaunce: 
And  where  thou  spyest  that  it  dooth  want, 
Or  wher  for  lack  the  mater  is  scant, 
To  put  it  as  is  accordyng 
To  the  mater  in  every  thyng; 
Bere  it  with  thee,  and  take  sume  payne 
The  poore  mare  shall  have  his  man  agayn." 

In  these  quotations  the  literal  differences  between  the  two 
copies  are  too  numerous  to  be  pointed  out,  and  to  an  important 
verbal  variation,  "  cheef"  for  chyet,  we  have  already  adverted  :  in 
the  last  line  but  one,  also,  Keep  in  one  copy  is  "  Bere  "  in  the 
other ;  but  the  most  noticeable  line  is  the  last,  because  it  impor 
tantly  illustrates  a  speech  by  Puck  in  "  Mids.  N.  Dream,"  Act  III. 
sc.  2  ;  only  in  "  Jyl  of  Breyntford  "  Hardysay,  perhaps  owing  to 
the  effect  of  the  "  pot  of  good  ale,"  reverses  the  words.  Puck 
speaks  of  it  as  a  "  country  proverb,"  and  so  Hardysay  uses  it  in 
his  converse  with  Copland,  who  carries  home  the  "  old  scrow," 
and  pretends  to  give  an  account  of  its  merry,  and  then  popularly 
palatable,  contents.  It  appears  that  Jyllyen,  or  Jyl  of  Breynt 
ford,  being  at  death's  door,  sent  for  the  Curate,  and  while  he  was 
drinking  a  cup  of  her  best  ale,  dictated  to  him  her  last  will  and 
testament.  In  it  she  makes  an  unsavory  bequest  to  every  person 
who  is  so  foolish  as  not,  in  all  cases,  to  do  what  is  most  to  his  own 
advantage  and  liking  :  — 

u  He  that  is  ever  way  ward  at  hart, 
And  with  every  man  is  over  wart," 


(Earln  (EnglisI)  £itcratare.  193 

i.  e.,  overthwart,  is  to  have  the  benefit  of  her  bequest.  So  again, 
still  more  humorously,  — 

"He  that  lendeth  a  horse  with  all  thynges  mete, 
And  on  his  own  vyage  gooth  on  his  fete," 

deserves  also  to  be  remembered  by  a  similar  legacy.  We  need 
not  go  through  the  rest,  but  when  the  Curate  (in  the  presence  of 
some  of  the  merry  old  dames'  friends  and  neighbors)  has  con 
cluded  the  will,  old  Jyl  calls  her  servant  :  — 

"  What  maid !  come  hither,  I  shrew  your  neck. 
Bring  us  up  shortly  a  quart  of  seek, 
A  cuple  of  bunnes,  and  set  us  some  cheese. 
Lo,  freends !  ye  shall  not  your  labour  leese: 
I  have,  as  now,  no  better  cheer  to  make  you. 
Be  mery  .and  welcome.    To  God  I  betake  you !  " 

"With  which  words  she  expires.  After  some  abuse  by  Copland  of 
the  priest,  for  not  taking  his  reward  in  good  part,  calling  him 
"  Sir  John  Whipdock,"  "  Sir  John  Smelsmock,"  and  "  hedge 
curate,"  the  piece  closes  with  "  an  Exhortation,"  entreating  the 
indulgence  of  the  reader  for  "  this  little  prety  fantasy,"  which  was 
clearly  only  calculated  for  the  atmosphere  of  tap-rooms,  and  for 
the  boisterous  amusement  of  "  bench-whistlers."  It  is,  however, 
characteristic  of  the  time,  and  mainly  upon  this  account  we  have 
noticed  it. 


COPLEY,  ANTHONY.  —  Wits,  Fits  and  Fancies  :  or  a  gen- 
erall  and  serious  Collection  of  the  Sententious  Speeches, 
Answers,  lests,  and  Behauiours  of  all  sortes  of  Estates 
from  the  Throane  to  the  Cottage.  Being  properly 
reduced  to  their  seuerall  heads  for  the  more  ease  to  the 
Reader.  Newly  corrected  and  augmented,  with  many 
late  true  and  wittie  accidents.  Musica  mentis,  medicina 
Mcestus.  —  London  Printed  by  Edw  :  Allde,  dwelling  in 
little  Saint  Bartholomewes,  near  Christ- Church.  1614. 
4to.  B.  L. 

This  work  was  originally  published  with  the  name  of  the  author, 

VOL.   I.  13 


194  Bibliograpljtotl  2Urcunt  of 

Anthony  Copley,  in  1595;  but  the  impression  before  us  is  partic 
ularly  valuable,  inasmuch  as  it  illustrates1  Shakspeare  more  than 
the  earlier  impression  quoted  by  Malone,  Sh.  by  Bosw.  III.  73, 
and  by  Douce  in  his  "  Illustrations,"  I.  340.  In  1614  all  mention 
of  Copley  seems  to  have  been  studiously  omitted,  (as  well  as  a 
poem  called  "  Love's  Owle  "  included  in  1595,)  possibly  on  account 
of  his  concern  in  Raleigh's  Conspiracy,  for  which  he  and  others 
were  tried  at  Winchester,  in  Nov.  1603,  (Stow's  Annales,  1605, 
p.  1418.)  The  impression  of  which  we  have  availed  ourselves  is 
entirely  prose,  and  consists  of  jests,  sayings,  and  anecdotes,  for 
many  of  which  Copley  was  indebted  to  the  Floresta  Spagnola,  as 
Douce  pointed  out  in  1807,  and  as  the  writer  in  Cens.  Lit.  (II. 
127)  repeated  in  1815. 

Pistol's  exclamation  in  2  Henry  IV.  Act  II.  sc.  4,  Si  fortuna 
me  tormenta,  sperato  me  contenta,  will  be  well  remembered  ;  and 
Farmer  referred  to  this  old  "  Collection  of  Tales  "  as  an  authority 
for  the  true  Italian  wording.  The  following  are  the  very  terms 
Copley  employs  on  p.  35  of  "  Wits,  Fits  and  Fancies  "  :  "  Hanni 
bal  Gonzaga  being  in  the  Low  Countries  overthrowne  from  his 
horse  by  an  English  Captaine,  and  commanded  to  yeeld  himselfe 
prisoner,  kist  his  sword  and  gave  it  to  the  Englishman,  saying,  Si 
Fortuna  me  tormenta,  il  speranza  me  contenta." 

In  the  same  work  we  meet  with  the  famous  proverbial  saying 
regarding  Venice  (Love's  Lab.  L.  IV.  2),  but  Copley  puts  it  into 
English.  In  "  Twelfth  Night,"  Act  III.  sc.  2,  Sir  Toby  tells  Sir 
Andrew,  "  If  thou  ihoust  him  some  thrice,  it  shall  not  be  amiss  ; " 
and  on  p.  28  of  the  work  before  us  we  read,  "  There  was  a  cer- 
taine  poore  Gentleman,  who,  in  regard  of  his  poverty,  every  one 
thowed,  and  not  any  one  vouchsafed  him  the  title  of  Mastership : 
whereupon  one  that  noted  it  said,  —  "  This  argueth  that  neither 
God  nor  the  King  ever  created  Mastership." 

Ben  Jonson,  also,  may  hence  have  received  a  hint  for  the  last 
scene  of  his  "  Every  Man  in  his  Humour,"  where  Justice  Clement, 
on  the  entrance  of  Babadil,  and  on  being  informed  that  he  is  a 
soldier,  calls  for  his  armor  and  sword,  that  they  may  be  upon 
equal  terms.  In  "  Wits,  Fits  and  Fancies,"  (p.  120,)  this  conduct 
is  attributed  to  "  a  merry  Recorder  of  London,"  meaning,  no 
doubt,  Fleetwood :  — 


I)  Citerature.  195 

"  A  souldiour  comming  about  a  sute  to  a  merrie  Recorder  of  London,  the 
Recorder,  seeing  him  out  of  the  window,  ran  hastilie  into  an  inner  roome, 
and  there  put  on  a  corslet  and  a  head-peece,  and  then  with  a  launce  in  his 
hand  came  downe  unto  him  and  said,  How  now,  Sirra!  are  you  the 
man  that  hath  somewhat  to  say  to  me?  Begin  now  when  you  dare,  for 
behold  (I  trowe)  I  am  sufficiently  provided  for  you." 

On  p.  50  there  is  a  remarkable  anecdote  of  Henry  Goldingham, 
the  poet,  (who  wrote  part  of  the  Entertainment  for  Elizabeth  at 
Norwich  in  1578,)  of  which  no  notice  has  been  taken,  although 
very  characteristic.  Copley,  who  probably  knew  him,  tells  us  that 
Goldingham  "  had  long  sued  to  her  Majestie  for  her  signet  to  his 
graunted  suite,  and  her  Majestie  still  saying  that  she  had  no  pen 
and  inke  at  hand  to  doe  it,  [he]  at  last  humbled  his  bill  to  her 
Highnesse  foote,  and  said,  '  May  it,  then,  please  your  Majestie  but 
to  step  your  royall  foote  hereupon,  and  I  my  selfe  will  then  war 
rant  it  for  good/  Her  Majestie  so  well  liked  of  his  merrie  con- 
ceipt,  that  presently,  calling  for  her  pen  and  inke,  did  daigne  to 
signe  it." 

There  are  many  jokes  and  stories  in  the  volume  that  were  trans 
ferred  without  acknowledgment  to  later  collections,  or  perhaps 
had  been  derived  from  the  same  original.  Such  materials  were 
considered  common  property,  and  the  following,  a  full  century 
after  it  appeared  in  English,  was  imputed  to  no  less  a  man  than 
Swift,  as  if  in  him  it  had  originated :  —  "A  famous  preacher  who 
had  long  sued  for  a  Bishoprick,  and  could  not  attaine  to  any,  used 
to  say  that,  out  of  doubt,  if  it  rayned  myters,  not  any  one  would 
light  upon  his  head."  (p.  64.) 

Stories  that  we  meet  with  in  1595  were  so  soon  adopted  by 
others,  that  in  1604  one  was  introduced  into  "  Mother  Bunch's 
Merriments,"  and  another  into  Dekker  and  Wilkins's  "  Jests  to 
make  you  merry,"  1607.  (See post.) 

As  a  poet,  Copley  is  scarcely  worth  notice.  His  "  Fig  for  For 
tune,"  1596,  is  good  in  little  but  in  its  pretentious  and  disappoint 
ing  title  :  it  is  dull,  and  ill  versified.  The  dialogue,  —  "  Love's 
Owle," —  in  the  first  edition  of  "  Wits,  Fits  and  Fancies,"  1595, 
is  something  better,  and  we  quote  the  following  stanza,  in  which 
Love  says  of  an  old  man,  — 


196  Bibliograpljtcal  Account  of 

"  Though  age  be  old  and  colde,  I  can 
Re-young  him  to  a  lustie  man, 
And  in  his  joyntes  infuse  a  fire 
To  execute  a  kinde  desire. 
I  can  regenerate  his  dying  yeere 
By  faire  bepriesting  him  to  a  bonny  feere, 
Or  els  dispensing  him  such  like  good  cheere 
Elsewhere." 

This  is,  perhaps,  the  best  of  all  the  stanzas  of  which  the  piece 
consists,  and  some  of  them,  it  must  be  allowed,  run  ruggedly  and 
uncouthly.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  Copley's  proposed  remedy 
would  be  at  all  effectual :  young  "  feeres,"  i.  e.  wives,  have  not 
usually  lengthened  the  lives  of  old  men. 


CORTAT,  THOMAS.  —  Coryats  Crudities.  Hastily  gobled 
up  in  five  Moneths  travells  in  France,  Savoy,  Italy, 
Rhetia,  commonly  called  the  Grisons  country,  Helvetia, 
alias  Switzerland,  some  parts  of  high  Germany,  and  the 
Netherlands  ;  Newly  digested  in  the  hungry  aire  of  Od- 
combe  in  the  County  of  Somerset,  and  now  dispersed  to 
the  nourishment  of  the  travelling  Members  of  this  King- 
dome  &c.  1611.  4to.  453  leaves. 

The  engraved  title,  as  above,  by  W.  Hole,  is  followed  by  a 
printed  title:  "London  Printed  by  W.  S.  Anno  Domini  1611." 
The  first  two  hundred  pages  are  occupied  principally  by  mock- 
panegyrics  upon  the  author  by  Ben  Jonson,  Sir  John  Harington, 
John  Donne,  Christopher  Brooke,  Inigo  Jones,  Richard  Corbet, 
Thomas  Campion,  Thomas  Bastard,  Michael  Draylon,  John  Da- 
vies,  Henry  Peacham,  &c.  The  "  Crudities"  themselves  occupy  six 
hundred  and  fifty-five  pages,  and  to  them  are  added  Posthuma 
Fragmenta  Poemalum,  &c.  The  Table  is  given  on  six  leaves,  and 
the  work  is  concluded  by  a  list  of  Errata,  and  an  introductory  ad 
dress  to  it. 

Coryat  does  not  seem  to  have  wanted  knowledge  nor  cleverness, 
but  he  made  himself  the  laughing-stock  of  the  time  by  his  gross 


(Earlg  (£ngli0Ij  Citrratur*.  197 

deficiency  in  common  sense  and  discretion.  A  complete  copy  of 
bis  "  Crudities"  ought  to  include,  among  other  plates,  a  full  length 
of  the  author  welcomed  by  a  Venetian  Courtesan.  Coryat  after 
wards  travelled  into  the  East,  and  died  at  Surat,  in  1617.  Such 
is  Anthony  Wood's  statement,  who  goes  into  considerable  detail 
regarding  Coryat's  later  travels,  which  began  in  1612,  the  year 
after  he  had  published  his  "  Crudities,"  having  been  encouraged 
to  continue  his  vagrancy  by  the  success  of  that  singular  and  much 
ridiculed  volume. 


COSBY,  ARNOLD.  —  The  most  horrible  and  tragicall  mur- 
ther  of  the  right  honorable,  the  vertuous  and  valerous 
Gentleman,  lohn  Lord  Bourgh,  Baron  of  Castell  Con- 
nell.  Committed  by  Arnold  Cosby,  the  foureteenth  of 
lanuarie.  Togeather  with  the  sorrowfull  sighes  of  a 
sadde  soule  vppon  his  funerall :  written  by  W.  R.  a  ser- 
uaunt  of  the  said  Lord  Bourgh.  —  Printed  by  R.  R. 
1591.  4to. 

There  were  two  impressions  of  this  curious  tract,  by  the  same 
printer  and  publisher,  in  1591,  but  the  only  difference  in  the  title- 
page  is  the  omission  of  the  nonsensical  Latin  motto,  Tempus  for- 
tuna  flent,  which  was  left  out  in  what  we  consider  the  second  edi 
tion.  The  title-pages  of  both  speak  of  certain  "  sorrowfull  sighes 
of  a  sad  soule  uppon  his  funerall,  written  by  R.  R.  a  servaunt  of 
the  said  Lord  Bourgh,"  which  ought  to  be  found  in  the  tract ;  but 
such  apparently  was  the  haste  in  bringing  it  out,  for  the  gratifica 
tion  of  public  curiosity  on  the  melancholy  event,  that  they  were 
omitted  in  a  copy  sent  to  Lambeth  Palace,  though  they  are  found 
in  another  exemplar  of  the  same  date  which  we  have  since  exam 
ined.  In  other  respects  they  do  not  materially  differ  ;  and  though 
the  "  sorrowful  sighs  "  are  written  in  an  ambitious  style  and  strain, 
and  fill  no  fewer  than  eight  4to  pages,  there  really  is  very  little  in 
them  worth  notice.  At  the  close  of  both  is  "  Arnold  Cosbie's  Ul- 
timum  Vale,"  in  which  he  laments  his  treacherous  cowardice  in 
slaying  Lord  Bourgh,  while  the  latter,  at  Cosbie's  instance,  was 
stooping  to  unbuckle  his  spurs.  This  is  in  blank  verse,  a  form  of 


198  BibUograpljiral  ^Icrotmt  of 

•writing  very  unusual  in  1591  in  pieces  not  designed  for  the  stage ; 
and  it  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  Shakspeare  took  from  it 
Pistol's  famous  exclamation,  "  Death,  rock  me  asleep!"  2  Henry 
IV.  Act  II.  sc.  4.  We  quote  the  passage  from  the  Ultimum 
Vale:  — 

"  Why  do  I  kill  my  dolefull  dying  heart 
With  sad  rehearsall  of  this  heavie  chance? 
0  death,  rocke  me  asleepe !  Father  of  Heaven ! 
That  hast  sole  power  to  pardon  sinnes  of  men, 
Forgive  the  faults  and  folly  of  my  youth, 
My  youth  misspent  in  wast  and  wantones ; 
And  for  sweete  Jesus  sake  forgive  my  soule, 
Fouly  defiled  with  this  above  the  rest, 
This  wickednes,  this  hard  unworthie  deed!  " 

These  lines  were  probably  not  by  Cosby,  but  were  written  by 
some  person  employed  by  the  publisher ;  and  we  feel  considerable 
confidence,  from  the  line  "  Forgive  the  faults  and  folly  of  my 
youth,"  that  they  were  by  Robert  Greene,  because  that  very  ex 
pression  occurs  in  one  of  his  acknowledged  pieces.  The  other 
verses,  that  is  to  say,  "  the  sighs  of  a  sad  soul,"  were  by  some  in 
ferior  scribe  ;  but  with  this  remarkable  peculiarity,  not  belonging 
to  any  other  poem  in  our  language  that  we  are  aware  of,  that  the 
first  four  lines  of  each  stanza  are  blank  verse,  closed  by  a  rhym 
ing  couplet ;  thus,  — 

44  The  soveraigne  of  the  Planets  never  rose, 
But  in  a  cloudie  vale  did  shrowd  his  head; 
His  Chariote  covered  like  a  mourning  hearse, 
Rejected  quite  his  golden  furniture: 

Ceres  and  Flora  suffered  such  a  dearth 

As  never  happened  on  the  barren  earth." 

We  add  another  stanza  for  its  novelty,  not  for  its  merit :  — 

41  Thus  is  my  spring  become  the  leaves  decaie, 
Where  characters  of  endles  griefe  are  writ: 
The  dewfull  teares  doe  trickle  from  the  boughs, 
That  lost  their  cloathing  when  I  lost  my  love. 

And  aye  to  me  my  sorrow  writs  the  worst, 

My  joyes  are  barren,  and  myselfe  accurst." 

The  precise  meaning  we  do  not  pretend  to  explain,  but  the 


Cfarln  <£njjU01j  Citerature.  199 

form  is,  we  apprehend,  without  example.1  These  verses  are  di 
vided  under  the  heads,  "  The  sighes  of  the  Night,"  "  The  sighes 
of  the  Morning,"  "  The  third  sigh  of  Winter,"  and  "  The  fourth 
sigh  of  the  Spring." 

Cosby's  Ultimum  Vale,  as  it  is  called,  was  also  printed  as  an 
appendix  to  the  account  of  his  execution,  published  by  William 
Wright  with  the  date  of  1591.  It  consists  of  four  leaves  ;  and  the 
only  material  fact  is  that  the  murderer,  in  his  last  and  penitent 
moments,  was  attended  by  Dr.  Fletcher,  then  Bishop  of  Bristol, 
the  father  of  the  dramatist,  John  Fletcher.  The  title-page  of 
Wright's  tract  is  "  The  manner  of  the  death  and  execution  of 
Arnold  Cosbie  &c.  with  certaine  verses  written  by  the  said  Cosby 
in  the  time  of  his  imprisonment."  He  was  hanged  at  "  Wands- 
worth  townes  end,"  near  where  he  murdered  Lord  Bourgh. 


CRAIGE,  ALEXANDER.  —  The  Amorose  Songes,  Sonets,  and 
Elegies :  Of  M.  Alexander  Craige,  Scoto-Britane.  — 
Imprinted  at  London  by  William  White.  1606.  B.  L. 
8vo.  84  leaves. 

This  author  began  to  write,  or  rather  to  publish,  in  1604,  when 
his  "  Poetical  Essayes  "  addressed  to  James  I.  appeared.  They 
are  more  remarkable  for  their  adulation  than  for  their  poetry,  and 
they  are  overburdened  with  classical  allusions,  which  perhaps 
rendered  theui  acceptable  to  the  king.  The  volume  before  us  is 
dedicated  to  the  Queen,  whom  the  author  styles  "  incomparably 
bountiful,  incomparably  beautiful,  and  so  peerless  Princess  ;  "  and 
the  remark  just  made  upon  the  character  of  his  production  of 
1604  will  apply  equally  to  that  of  1606.  It  seems  that  Craige 
was  indebted  to  the  Queen's  "  munificence,"  and  that  she  had 
bestowed  "  frequent  benefits  "  upon  him  ;  but  he  furnishes  no  par 
ticulars.  After  the  dedication  he  inserts  an  "  Epistle  generall  to 
Idea,  Cynthia,  Lithocardia,  Kala,  Erantina,  Lais,  Pandora,  Pene- 
lopoe,"  to  all  of  whom  he  also  adds  separate  epistles.  He  apolo- 

1  See,  however,  article  in  Vol.  III.,  BARNABE  RICH,  who  in  1613  adopted 
a  similar  kind  of  stanza. 


200  Biblicgrcipljtcal  JUcotmt  of 

gizes  "  to  the  Reader"  for  "using  the  Scotish  and  English  dia- 
lectes,"  but  he  is  also  fond  of  French  terms,  by  which  he  thinks 
he  gives  a  polish  to  his  "  rude  rhirnes,"  and  he  employs  besides 
a  number  of  affected  words.  The  following  Sonnet  "  to  the 
Queene  her  most  excellent  Majestic  "  introduces  the  "Amorous 
Songes  and  Sonets."  It  is  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  the  author's 
style :  — 

"  Apelles'  man  did  all  his  wits  imploy 

To  paint  the  shape  of  Lcedais  daughter  faire ; 

But  when  he  saw  his  worke  prov'd  nought,  poore  boy, 

He  wept  for  woe  and  tooke  exceeding  care: 

Then  deck'd  he  her  with  jewels  rich  and  rare. 

Which  when  the  brave  Apelles  did  behold, 

Paint  on  (quoth  hee),  poore  boy,  and  haue  no  feare: 

When  beautie  fayles,  well  done  t'  enrich  with  gold. 

I  am  (faire  Princesse)  like  the  Painter's  man; 

As  ignorant,  as  skant  of  skill  as  hee, 

Yet  will  I  strive  and  doe  the  best  I  can 

To  manifest  my  loving  minde  to  thee. 
But  to  supply  the  weaknesse  of  my  skill, 
In  place  of  gold  (great  Lady)  take  good  will." 

This  is  only  subscribed  "  Craige,"  but  sometimes  he  adds  "  Scoto- 
Britain,"  and  once  "  Banfa-Britain."  He  refers  to  his  youth,  and 
promises  to  present  the  lady  he  calls  Lithocardia  with  "  some  bet 
ter  poem."  These  names  probably  have  all  an  individual  applica 
tion,  and  in  one  of  his  sonnets  Craige  unequivocally  tells  us  that 
Penelope  is  Lady  Rich.  Although  he  here  and  there  speaks  dif 
fidently  of  his  own  powers,  it  is  evident  that  he  thought  he  was 
destined  to  immortality,  and  to  give  immortality  to  those  whom  he 
celebrates.  A  "  Sonnet  to  Idea"  begins,  — 

"  My  Muse  shall  make  thy  boundless  fame  to  flie 
In  bounds  where  yet  thy  selfe  was  never  scene; 
And  were  not  for  my  songs  thy  name  had  beene 
Obscurelie  cast  into  the  grave  with  thee." 

His  notion  of  addressing  a  real  or  imaginary  female  under  the 
name  of  "  Idea"  he  had  from  Michael  Drayton,  who  had  done  the 
same  thing  ten  or  twelve  years  before.  On  sign.K  i,  we  come  to 
a  new  prose  dedication  "  To  my  honorable  good  Lord  and  maister 
(the  true  Maecenas  of  my  muse)  George  Earle  of  Dunbar,  Lord 


Carlg  (Knglisl)  £ifcratnr*.  201 

Barwick,  high  Tresurar  of  Scotland,"  ending  with  these  words  : 
"What  I  have  heere  set  downe  is  for  your  sollace  ;  and  so  I 
beseech  your  Honor  to  accept  from  the  table  of  my  Chamber,  at 
your  liberall  charge  and  allowance,  the  5  day  of  November  1606." 
In  this  part  of  the  volume  we  meet  with  those  imitations  and  en 
largements  of  Christopher  Marlow's  well-known  ballad,  "  Come 
live  with  me  and  be  my  love,"  and  the  answer  to  it  by  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  which  the  Rev.  H.  J.  Todd  has  pointed  out  in  his  edition 
of  Milton,  v.  68.  They  consist  of  four  poems  between  Alexis  and 
Lesbia,  the  first  beginning, 

"  Come  be  my  love  and  live  with  me," 
the  second,  in  reply  : 

"  If  all  were  thine  that  there  I  see." 
The  third  is  "  a  new  persuasion  "  : 

"  Once  more  I  pray  thee  be  my  love; " 

and  the  fourth, 

"  Oft  have  I  pray'd  thee  be  my  love." 

Few  imitations  can  be  less  like  the  original,  excepting  in  mere 
form,  for  all  the  natural  and  pastoral  simplicity  of  Marlow  is  lost 
in  trite,  tedious,  and  repeated  allusions  to  Parnassus,  Castalian 
drops,  Hippocrene,  Aganippe,  &c. 

Craige  cannot  do  without  the  heathen  gods  and  goddesses  at 
every  turn,  and  he  afterwards  calls  in  the  aid  of  Flora,  Daphne,  the 
Nereids,  Apollo,  and  Cynthia,  in  the  poem  which  opens  thus :  — 

"  Come  be  my  Love  and  live  with  mee, 
And  thou  shalt  all  the  solace  see, 
That  glassie  gulfs  or  earth  can  bring 
From  Vesta's  wealth,  or  Nepluns  reigne. 

"  For  we  shall  on  the  mountains  go, 
In  shaddie  umbers  to  and  fro ; 
In  vallies  low,  and  on  the  bray, 
And  with  thy  feet  the  flowrs  shall  play." 

The  printer  often  does  injustice  to  the  author,  who  probably  had 
no  opportunity  of  correcting  the  errors  of  the  press.  The  volume 
ends  on  sign.  L  iiii,  with  an  English  sonnet  "  to  the  Author,"  sub 
scribed  I.  M.,  and  two  copies  of  Latin  verses,  Cragio  Suo,  and  De 
Alexandra  Rupceo,  the  first  signed  Robertus  Aytonus,  and  the  last 
Arthurus  Gordonus. 


202  jStbliograpljical  Account  of 

CRIES  OF  LONDON.  —  The  Manner  of  Crying  Things  in 

London.     4to.     32  leaves. 

This  is  a  series  of  thirty-two  copperplates,  without  date  or 
engraver's  name,  and  the  above  title  is  given  to  them  in  the 
handwriting  of  the  second  Earl  of  Bridgewater.  They  were  per 
haps  by  some  foreign  artist,  and  probably  proof  impressions ;  for 
on  the  margin  of  one  of  the  plates  is  a  small  part  of  another,  as 
if  it  had  been  taken  off  for  a  trial  of  the  plate.  It  is  impossible 
to  assign  a  date  to  them  with  any  exactness,  but  assistance  may 
be  derived  from  a  black-letter  ballad  by  W.  Turner,  called,  — 

"  The  Common  Cries  of  London  Town, 
Some  go  up  street  and  some  go  down." 

Under  the  title  of  it  is  a  woodcut  of  a  man  with  a  basket  on 
his  head.  The  only  known  copy  is  dated  1662,  but  it  contains 
internal  evidence,  in  the  following  stanza,  that  it  was  written  in 
the  reign  of  James  I. 

"  That's  the  fat  foole  of  the  Curtin, 

And  the  lean  fool  of  the  Bull: 
Since  Shanke  did  leave  to  sing  his  rimes 

He  is  counted  but  a  gull. 
The  Players  on  the  Banckeside, 

The  round  Globe  and  the  Swan, 
Will  teach  you  idle  tricks  of  love, 
But  the  Bull  will  play  the  man." 

Shanke,  the  comic  actor  here  mentioned,  was  one  of  Prince 
Henry's  players  in  1603  ;  *and  Taylor,  the  Water-poet,  informs  us 
that  the  Swan  Theatre,  mentioned  above,  had  been  abandoned  by 
the  players  in  1613.  The  Curtain  Theatre  had  also  fallen  into  dis 
use  before  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  The  Globe  and  Bull  were  em 
ployed  until  after  the  Restoration.  Several  of  Turner's  "  Cries 
of  London  Town "  are  so  similar  to  those  represented  in  the 
engravings  before  us,  that  we  may  conclude  they  were  nearly 
contemporary.  As  this  is,  perhaps,  the  earliest  known  series  of 
the  kind,  an  enumeration  of  the  "  Cries,"  illustrating  very 
curiously  the  manners  of  our  ancestors,  will  not  be  unaccept 
able. 

1.  Lanthorne  and  a  whole  Candell  light:  hange  out  your  lights  heare! 
2.  I  have  fresh_Cheese  and  Creame.  —  3.  Buy  a  Bresh,  or  a  table  Booke. 


(Earls  (Englislj  Citerature.  203 

4.  Fine  Oranges,  fine  Lemons.  — 5.  Ells  or  yeards:  by  yeard  or  Ells.  — 
6.  I  have  ripe  strawburyes,  ripe-straw-buryes.  — 7.  I  have  Screenes,  if 
you  desier ;  To  keepe  your  Butey  from  y«  fire.  —  8.  Codlinges  hot,  hot  Cod- 
linges.  — 9.  Buy  a  steele,  or  a  Tinder  Box.  — 10.  Quicke  paravinkells, 
quicke,  quick.  — 11.  Worke  for  a  Cooper:  worke  for  a  Cooper.  — 12. 
Bandestringes,  or  hankercher  buttons.  — 13.  A  Tanker  bearer.  — 14.  Mac- 
arell  new:  Maca-rell.  — 15.  Buy  a  hone,  or  a  whetstone,  or  a  marking 
ston.  — 16.  White  Unions,  whitt  St.  Thomas  Unions.  — 17.  Mate  for  a 
Bed,  buy  a  Doore  mate.  — 18.  Radishes  or  lettis,  tow  bunches  a  peny. 
19.  Have  you  any  worke  for  a  Tinker.  —  20.  Buy  my  Hartichokes,  Mis- 
tris.  — 21.  Maribones,  Maides,  maribones.  — 22.  I  ha'  ripe  Couccumber, 
ripe  Couccumber.  —  23.  Chimney  Sweepe.  —  24.  New  flounders,  new. 
25.  Some  broken  Breade  and  meate  for  ye  poore  prisoners :  for  the  Lords 
sake  pittey  the  poore. — 26.  Buy  my  dish  of  great  Smelts.  —  27.  Have 
you  any  Chaires  to  mend.  — 28.  Buy  a  Cocke,  or  a  gelding. —  29.  Old 
showes  or  bootes:  will  you  buy  some  Broome.  —  30.  Mussels,  Lilly  white 
Mussels.  — 31.  Small  Cole  a  penny  a  peake.  —  32.  What  Kitchen-stuffe 
have  you,  Maides. 

The  figures,  male  and  female,  in  the  engravings  are  all  three- 
quarter  lengths,  and  they  are  furnished  with  the  implements 
of  their  various  trades,  or  with  the  articles  in  which  they  deal. 

Other  London  Cries  are  mentioned  by  different  authors,  and  a 
list  of  them,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Cries  of  Rome,"  may  be  seen 
in  Tho.  Hey  wood's  "  Rape  of  Lucrece,"  1 608.  The  earliest  notice 
of  Cries,  that  we  recollect,  is  in  Laneham's  "  Letter  from  Kenil- 
worth,  1575":  "  That  is,"  says  he,  in  his  peculiar  spelling,  "  a 
fresh  cheaz  and  cream,  and  the  common  cry  that  theez  milkwives 
make  in  London  streetes  yeerly  betwy*t  Easter  and  Whitson- 
tide."  In  the  old  play  of  "  The  Three  Lords  and  Three  Ladies 
of  London,"  1590,  it  appears  that  woodmen  went  about  with  their 
beetles  and  wedges  on  their  backs,  crying  "  Have  you  any  wood 
to  cleave  ?  "  In  "  The  Loyal  Subject,"  by  Beaumont  and  Fletcher, 
Act  III.  sc.  5,  we  find  that  in  the  reign  of  James  I.  potatoes  had 
become  so  common,  that "  Potatoes  —  ripe  Potatoes  "  were  publicly 
hawked  about  the  city.  "  The  Cries  of  London  "  are  enumerated 
in  R.  Brome's  "  Court  Beggar,"  Act  V. ;  and  in  Ben  Jonson's  Epi 
gram,  xcii., "  the  new  cry  "  is  spoken  of.  In  a  mock  list  of  books, 
in  what  is  called  "  The  Instructive  Library,"  printed  for  the  Man 
in  the  Moon,  1710,  we  have  the  cries  of"  Knives  to  grind,"  "  Old 
chairs  to  mend,"  "  Pears  to  bake,"  "  Milk  a  penny  a  quart,"  "  Grey 


204  33tblujgrapl)tcal  Account  of 

Peas  and  Bacon,"  "  Fresh  Herrings,"  and  "  Shrewsbury  Pud 
dings." 

Turner  in  his  ballad,  before  mentioned,  gives  several  "  Cries  " 
not  included  in  the  engravings,  such  as  "  The  Waterman,"  "  The 
Blacking  Man,"  "  The  Pedlar,"  "  Cherry  ripe,"  "Buy  a  Mouse 
trap,"  &c.  The  following  are  two  more  of  his  stanzas :  — 

"  Ripe,  Cherry  ripe 

The  Coster-monger  cries; 
Pippins  fine,  or  pears. 

Another  after  hies 
With  basket  on  his  head 

His  living  to  advance, 
And  in  his  purse  a  pair  of  Dice 

For  to  play  at  Mumchance. 

"  Hot  pippin  pies 

To  sell  unto  my  friends ; 
Or  pudding  pies  in  pans, 

Well  stuft  with  candles  ends. 
Will  you  buy  any  Milk, 

I  heard  a  wench  that  cries: 
With  a  pale  of  fresh  Cheese  and  cream 

Another  after  hies." 

In  the  British  Museum  is  a  series  of  "  Cries  of  London,"  re 
sembling  those  under  consideration,  but  larger,  and  much  coarser 
in  the  style  of  engraving.  Tempest's  "  Cries  of  London"  came 
out  about  1680. 

In  1628  Samuel  Rowland  (who,  we  apprehend,  is  not  to  be 
confounded  with  the  popular  comic  poet,  Samuel  Rowlands) 
printed  a  pious  production  called  "  Heavens  Glory,  seeke  it," 
&c.,  at  the  end  of  which  he  inserted,  with  a  new  title-page, 
"  The  Common  Cryes  and  Sounds  of  the  Bell-man,"  which  only 
relate  to  what  we  now  term  "  Bell-mans  Verses  "  :  they  are  all  of 
a  serious  and  religious  character,  such  as  the  following :  — 

"  For  New-yeares  Day. 
11  All  you  that  doe  the  Bell-man  heare 
The  first  day  of  this  hopefull  yeare, 
I  doe  in  love  admonish  you 
To  bid  your  old  sins  all  adue, 


(Earlt)  QhtglisI)  Citcrature.  205 

And  walke  as  Gods  just  law  requires 
In  holy  deeds  and  good  desires; 
Which  if  ye  doe,  youle  doe  your  best: 
God  will  in  Christ  forgive  the  rest." 

There  are  many  others,  but  of  the  same  character,  and  they 
do  not  properly  come  under  the  designation  of  "  Cries  of  Lon 
don."  The  work  was  printed  for  Michael  Sparke. 


CROSSE,  WILLIAM.  —  Belgiaes  Trovbles  and  Trivmphs. 
Wherein  are  truly  and  Historically  related  all  the  most 
famous  Occurrences,  which  haue  happened  betweene  the 
Spaniards  and  Hollanders  in  these  last  foure  yeares 
Warres  of  the  Netherlands,  with  other  Accidents,  which 
haue  had  relation  vnto  them,  as  the  Battels  of  Fleurie 
and  Statloo,  the  losse  of  Gulicke  and  Breda,  the  Sieges 
of  Since  and  Bergen,  the  Conquest  of  St.  Saluador  in 
Brasilia,  and  the  taking  of  Goffe  by  Charles  Lambert, 
&c.  Written  by  William  Crosse,  master  of  Arts  of  St. 
Mary  Hall  in  Oxford,  and  sometimes  Chaplaine  vnto 
Colonell  Ogle  in  the  Netherlands.  —  London,  Printed 
by  Augustine  Mathewes,  and  John  Norton,  1625.  4to. 
39  leaves. 

Of  this  poem  we  find  no  mention,  and  of  its  author  we  can 
give  no  account  beyond  what  Wood  says  of  him,  who,  however, 
knew  nothing  of  the  work  before  us.  He  took  the  degree  of 
B.  A.  in  1610,  and  of  M.  A.  in  1613  :  in  1612  he  had  contributed 
to  the  Justa  Oxoniensium,  and  in  1613  to  the  verses  of  the  Univer 
sity  on  the  marriage  of  the  Prince  Palatine  with  the  daughter  of 
James  I.  Two  years  after  the  appearance  of  his  "  Belgia's 
Troubles  "  he  produced  a  "  Continuation  of  the  History  of  the  Neth 
erlands"  from  the  year  1608;  and  in  1629  he  published  a  transla 
tion  of  Sallust. 

"  Belgia's  Troubles  "  is  a  work  of  little  talent,  but  of  consider 
able  pretension,  divided  into  two  books,  the  first  dedicated  to  the 


206  ISiblicgrapIjkal  3Urotmt  of 

Earl  of  Essex  and  Lord  Mountjoy,  and  the  second  to  Lord  Con- 
way,  Baron  of  Raggely,  and  to  Sir  Horatio  Vere.  Crosse  admits, 
modestly  enough,  that  he  has  written  "  rather  a  discourse  than  a 
poem,"  and  professes  to  have  treated  events  historically  without 
the  display  of  imagination.  He  begins  by  a  personification  of 
Bellona,  who  summons  her  Page  Discord  to  inflame  the  hostile 
parties,  but  we  afterwards  hear  no  more  of  them,  nor  of  any  cor 
responding  machinery.  The  performance  looks  the  heavier  be 
cause  each  book,  of  many  hundred  lines,  forms  a  single  paragraph. 
The  whole  opens  thus  grandiloquently  :  — 

"  After  the  calmes  of  sweet-contenting  Peace 
Well  passed  were,  and  that  luxurious  ease 
Had  griped  on  those  Armes,  which  fighting  were 
Imbru'd  with  blood,  with  danger  death  and  feare, 
Bellona,  storming  with  a  fatall  rage, 
Out  of  th'  Infernall  Cells  calls  forth  a  Page 
Fell  Discord  hight,  with  whom  she  thus  doth  treat. 
Do  not  thy  trembling  vaines,  deare  Discord,  sweat 
Whole  stormes  of  wrath?  "  &c. 

The  author  is  often  not  very  particular  as  to  the  exactness  of 
his  rhymes,  but  we  seldom  have  met  with  so  bad  a  set  as  the  fol 
lowing  :  — 

"For  those  hote  bloods  which  never  could  agree, 
Nor  simpathize  in  congruous  qualitie, 
Now  mounted  are,  and  ready  for  to  make 
Upon  their  foes  a  second  Flanders  State ; 
Their  high-proofe  Armour  for  their  temper  equall 
To  Millans  making,  and  to  Siras  mettall." 

"  The  second  booke  "  is  as  long,  and  as  wearisome,  as  the  first, 
and  here  and  there  the  author  repeats  himself,  as  where  he  says, 
twice  over,  that  a  certain  furious  bombardment  would  have  been 
sufficient  to  demolish  the  walls  of  "  Ecbatane  or  Babylon."     Per 
haps  the  best  couplet  in  the  whole  poem  is  to  be  found  in  the  sec 
ond  book,  where  Crosse  describes  a  field  after  a  desperate  battle : 
"  The  bullet-furrowd  fielde  with  shot  was  sowen, 
And  all  the  plaine  with  batterd  corslets  strowen." 

He  has  also  a  curious  and  somewhat  striking  passage  where  he 
describes  soldiers  during  the  severity  of  the  winter  in  Flanders 


(ffarlg  (Engltslj  Ctferatmre.  20T 

frozen  to  death,  some  of  them  standing  stark  against  trees,  &c. 
It  was  the  Spanish  soldiers  who  patiently  endured  this  extremity 
of  cold,  and  the  author  generally,  and  generously,  admits  the 
valor  and  hardihood  of  the  enemy,  besides  bearing  testimony  to 
his  excellent  martial  discipline. 


CROWCH,  HUMFREY.  —  Loves  Court  of  Conscience.  Writ 
ten  upon  two  severall  Occasions  ;  with  new  Lessons  for 
Lovers.  "VVhereunto  is  annexed  a  kinde  Husbands 
advice  to  his  Wife.  By  Humfrey  Crowch.  —  London, 
Printed  for  Richard  Harper,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  his 
shop  in  Smithfield,  at  the  Hospitall  Gate.  1637.  8vo. 
16  leaves.' 

This  is  a  pleasant  unpretending  production,  by  an  author,  we 
think,  nowhere  recorded  in  our  poetical  annals.  The  truth, 
however,  is  that  he  was  a  popular  ballad-writer ;  and  the  work 
before  us  was  merely  a  chap-book,  price  twopence,  —  a  form  fre 
quently  adopted  when  the  subject  was  too  long  for  the  first  and 
second  part  of  a  broadside.  We  know  nothing  of  the  history  or 
occupation  of  Humfrey  Crowch,  but  perhaps,  like  Martin  Parker, 
whose  contemporary  he  was,  he  lived  wholly  by  his  pen  ;  or  per 
haps,  like  an  earlier  predecessor  in  ballad-writing,  Thomas  Delo- 
ney,  the  silk-weaver,  he  added  to  his  means  of  subsistence,  derived 
from  his  trade,  by  applying  his  rhyming  propensity  to  any  popular 
topic. 

In  this  instance  Crowch  hit  upon  a  very  good  title,  and  the 
interior  of  his  small  work  does  not  contradict  it  either  by  dulness 
or  insipidity.  He  opens  with  a  supposed  Court  of  Justice,  where 
Reason,  Grace,  Truth,  and  Wit  preside,  and  before  whom  a  per 
son,  called  Intelligence,  produces  the  body  of  a  young  man  who 
had  destroyed  himself  for  love.  Wisdom  seems  to  act  as  assessor 
to  the  Court,  and  Discretion,  as  Amiens  Curice,  enlarges  and 
moralizes  upon  the  subject  of  love  and  matrimony,  giving  five  dis 
tinct  "  lessons,"  as  they  are  termed,  all  tending  to  produce  con 
stancy  in  admirers,  and  affection  in  husbands  and  wives.  Discre- 


208  Stbliograpljtcal  2Urotint  of 

tion  introduces  a  ballad  upon  the  amour  of  Dido  and  JEneas, 
which  ends  with  the  subsequent  stanza :  — 

"Dido  wept',  but  what  of  this? 

The  Gods  would  have  it  so: 
_3£neas  nothing  did  amisse, 

For  he  was  forc't  to  go. 
Learn,  Lordlings,  then  no  vows  to  keep 
With  false  loves,  but  let  them  weep ; 

Tis  folly  to  be  true. 
Let  this  lesson  serve  your  turn, 
And  let  twenty  Didoes  mourn, 

So  you  get  daily  new." 

The  moral,  such  as  it  is,  is  hardly  consistent  with  the  professed 
purpose  of  the  tract,  but  the  ballad  is  followed  by  what  is  more 
consonant,  and  is  headed  "  A  kinde  husbands  advice  to  his 
Wife,"  in  which,  among  many  others,  are  the  following  lines:  — 

"  Then,  I  am  richer  far  then  some  that  have 
Gold  in  their  purses,  lands,  and  livings  brave: 
Yet  I  enjoy  these  blessings  but  in  vain, 
Because  I  love,  and  am  not  lov'd  again. 
O !  would  I  did  not  love  thee  half  so  well, 
I'de  nere  regard  that  firebrand  of  hell, 
I  mean  your  tongue,  that  doth  afflict  my  heart; 
For  if  a  stranger  should  but  act  thy  part 
I  would  not  care.    1  am  of  this  belief 
Where  is  great  love,  the  greater  is  the  grief, 
If  that  he  be  repulst  with  evill  speeches 
By  a  curst  dame  that  strives  to  weare  the  breeches. 
Consider  what  I  say,  and  be  advis'd: 
Silence  in  women  kinde  is  highly  pris'd." 

There  is  not  much  attempt  at  poetry  in  the  tract  beyond  the 
rhyme,  but  the  lines  run  easily,  and  were  intended  to  be  of  a 
familiar  cast.  A  single  copy  of  the  chap-book  is  all  we  ever  saw, 
or  expect  to  see. 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  The  Worthy  tract  of  Paulus 

contayning  a  Discourse  of  rare  hmentions,  both  Militarie 
and  Amorous  called  Imprese.     Whereunto  is  added  a 


®arlg   (Engltsl)  Citerature.  209 

Preface  contayning  the  Arte  of  composing  them,  with 
many  other  notable  deuises.  By  Samuell  Daniell  late 
Student  in  Oxenforde.  —  At  London,  Printed  for  Simon 
Waterson.  1585.  4to. 

This  is  chiefly  remarkable  as  being  Daniel's  earliest  known 
work  :  he  was  at  this  date  in  his  twenty- third  year.i  It  is  en 
tirely  prose,  excepting  one  stanza  from  Ariosto,  which  is  thus  trans 
lated,  but  not  in  the  form  of  the  original :  it  refers  to  the  dress 
and  device  of  Bradamante  :  — 

"  Her  upper  robe  of  such  like  colour  was, 

As  is  the  fading  leaf  of  palish  hew, 
When  from  the  bowe  the  lively  sap  doth  passe, 

Which  nourish  did  the  stock  whereon  it  grew, 
Embrodered  al  with  braunches  thick  aboue, 

And  fading  bowes  of  dolefull  Cipresse  tree; 
Which  cut  with  deadly  axe  doth  neuer  proue. 

This  habit  with  her  griefe  did  well  agree." 

It  certainly  does  not  promise  much,  and  the  passage  of  the  OT'KT- 
inal  — 

"  che  mai  non  si  rinfranca, 
Poi  ch'  ha  sentito  la  dura  bipenne  "  — 

is  so  badly  rendered  as  hardly  to  convey  the  meaning  of  the 
poet. 

Besides  the  translation  from  Paulus  Jovius,  there  is  a  good  deal 
of  original  matter,  contributed  chiefly  by  Daniel.  The  dedication 

1  Samuel  Daniel  was  a  Somersetshire  man,  as  we  learn  from  Lane's 
"  Triton's  Trumpet,"  a  MS.  dated  in  1620;  and  it  is  stated  that  his  father 
was  a  music-master  at  Taunton.  A  little  earlier  there  was  a  John  Daniel 
who  was  an  author,  and  may  have  been  related :  he  wrote,  and  dated 
"  From  my  house  in  Saint  Brides  churchyard,  the  13  of  January,  1576," 
the  following  work,  —  "  Jehovah.  A  free  Pardon,  with  many  Graces 
therein  conteyned,  graunted  to  all  Christians  by  our  most  Holy  and  rev 
erent  Father,  God  Almightie,  the  principal  high  Priest  and  Bishoppe  in 
Heaven  and  Earth  &c.  by  John  Danyel  of  Clements  Inn.  Printed  at 
London  by  Thomas  East  for  Andrew  Maunsell,"  &c.  It  is  a  translation 
rom  the  Spanish.  Samuel  Daniel  had  a  brother  John,  whom,  in  Sept* 
1619,  he  left  sole  executor  of  his  will:  see  that  will  in  the  Shaksp.  Soc. 
Papers,  iv.  156. 

VOL.  i.  14 


210  Uibliograpljkal  TUromtt  of 

is  to  "  Sir  Edward  Dimmock,  Champion  to  her  Maiestie,"  followed 
by  an  epistle  of  twelve  pages,  "  To  his  good  friend  Samuel  Dan 
iel,"  subscribed  N.  W.,  to -encourage  him  to  print  what  he  had  thus 
rendered  into  English.  Near  the  commencement  he  speaks  of 
three  works,  one  existing,  one  lost,  and  the  third  mentioned  no 
where  else,  viz.,  Nicholas  Breton's  "  Flourish  upon  Fancy,"  printed 
in  1577  ;  Richard  Tarlton's  "  Toys,"  entered  for  the  press  on  10th 
December  of  the  same  year,  and  no  doubt  published,  though  now 
extinct ;  and  an  "  Interlude  of  Diogenes,"  of  which  we  never  hear 
elsewhere. 

This  notice  of  the  three  early  productions  is  new,  and  a  copy 
of  Daniel's  translation  is  extremely  rare.  The  letter  of  N.  W. 
goes  learnedly,  and  somewhat  pedantically,  over  the  whole  subject 
of  the  antiquity  of  Impreses  and  Emblems,  and  it  is  followed  by 
an  Epistle  of  15  pages  from  Daniel,  on  devices  in  various  parts  of 
Europe,  "  to  the  friendly  Reader."  "  The  Discourses  of  Paulus 
Jovius"  follow,  and  the  work  ends  with  13  pages  regarding  "  cer- 
taine  notable  devises,  both  militarie  and  amorous,  collected  by 
Samuell  Daniell."  They  contain  nothing  worth  extracting. 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  Delia.  Contayning  certayne  Sonnets  : 
with  the  complaint  of  Rosamond.  Aetas  prima  canat 
veneres  postrema  tumultus.  —  At  London,  Printed  by 
I.  C.  for  Simon  Waterson,  dwelling  in  Paules  Church 
yard  at  the  signe  of  the  Crowne.  1592.  4to.  50 
leaves. 

This  is  the  earliest  edition  of  Daniel's  "  Delia,"  but  it  may  be 
doubted,  for  reasons  hereafter  assigned,  whether  it  is  the  first 
impression  of  "  The  complaint  of  Rosamond."  At  the  back  of  the 
title-page  (which  is  in  an  arabesque  compartment)  is  a  brief  ad 
dress  "  To  the  Reader,"  requesting  him  to  correct  in  the  Sonnets 
six  errors  of  the  press,  which  are  pointed  out.  In  the  other  impres 
sion  of  1592  (the  title-page  of  which  is  in  an  architectural  com 
partment)  these  "  faultes  escaped  in  the  printing  "  are  rectified. 
The  title-page  of  that  second  edition  runs  thus :  — 


(Earls  (Enjjlialj  Cifcratur*.  211 

"Delia.  Containing  certaine  Sonnets:  with  the  complaynt  of  Rosa 
mond.  ^Etas  prima  canat  veneres  postrema  tumultus.  1592.  At  London 
Printed  by  J.  C.  for  S.  Watersonne."  4to. 

We  have  been  thus  particular,  because  the  two  impressions  of 
the  work  in  1592  differ  very  materially  :  for  instance,  the  second 
of  1592  contains  54  sonnets,  being  four  more  than  are  in  the  first ; 
and  in  the  Bodleian  Library  there  is  a  copy  of  an  edition  with  the 
date  of  1592,  and  with  the  "  Rosamond,"  as  usual,  appended,  in 
which  (besides  the  correction  of  several  errors,  and  minor  changes) 
no  fewer  than  23  stanzas  of  the  "  Rosamond  "  are  omitted.  The 
pagination  is  also  different,  and  it  seems  clearly  a  distinct  impres 
sion,  which  makes  three  in  the  same  year,  showing  the  great  pop 
ularity  of  the  work.  The  corrections  prove  that  this  edition  at 
Oxford  must  have  been  subsequent  to  the  others ;  and  if  so,  why 
were  the  23  stanzas  of  the  «  Rosamond  "  omitted,  when  they  are 
found  in  the  two  other  4tos  of  1592,  and  in  the  12mo  editions  of 
1594  and  1595  ? 

Our  notion  is,  that  none  of  the  earliest  editions  of  "  Rosamond  " 
were  printed  at  the  same  time  as  the  "  Delia":  the  type  is  much 
coarser  and  thicker,  and  having  first  gone  through  the  press,  we 
apprehend  that  it  was  subsequently  added  to  the  sonnets  inscribed 
to  Delia.  We  are,  however,  aware  of  no  extant  separate  edition 
of  the  "  Rosamond,"  and  that  which  follows  the  "  Delia,"  in  the 
Bodleian  Library,  must  have  been  Daniel's  original  draught, 
before  he  added  the  twenty-three  stanzas  inserted  in  all  the  other 
copies,  and  forming  an  important  part  of  the  poem,  although  the 
sense  is  complete  without  them.  As  a  specimen  of  the  variations 
contained  in  the  copy  at  Oxford,  we  may  give  the  last  line  of  a 
stanza  not  far  from  the  end  of  the  "  Rosamond,"  which  in  the  two 
other  impressions  of  1592  runs  thus  :  — 

"  That  overwhelms  vs  or  confounds  vs  quite." 
In  the  Oxford  copy,  of  1592,  it  stands,  — 

"  Tongue,  pen  nor  arte  can  neuer  shew  a  right." 
That  copy  has  also  a  manifest  improvement  in  the  very  last  stanza 
which  absurdly  begins,  in  the  other  copies  of  the  same  year,  — 

"  So  vanquisht  she,  and  left  me  to  returne; " 


212  Bibliographical  ^aount  of 

instead  of — 

"  So  vamsht  she  and  left  me  to  returne." 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  blunder  is  repeated  in  the  12mo  edition 
of  1594,  while  it  is  corrected  in  the  12mo  edition  of  1595.  There 
is  much  that  seems  inexplicable  in  the  early  impressions  of  .Daniel's 
poems,  partly  owing,  perhaps,  to  the  fastidiousness  of  the  author, 
and  to  the  changes  he  from  time  to  time  introduced. 

No  other  perfect  copy  of  the  first  edition  of  "  Delia  "  (which 
also  promises  "  The  complaint  of  Rosamond  "  on  the  title-page}  is 
known  but  that  now  before  us.  It  has  been  already  observed, 
that,  besides  the  correction  of  the  errors  of  the  press,  the  second 
edition,  with  the  date  of  1592,  comprises  four  sonnets  not  in  the 
first  edition,  and  they  are  numbered  respectively  xxvii,  xxviii, 
xxix  (by  mistake  printed  xxxi),  and  xxx:  the  other  fifty  sonnets 
are  all  in  the  first  edition.  The  types  are  the  same  for  both,  but 
there  are  differences  in  the  spelling :  and,  besides  the  mistakes 
pointed  out  in  the  errata,  some  valuable  corrections  are  made  in 
the  second  edition :  in  the  first  edition,  for  instance,  in  Sonnet  x, 
Venus  is  called  "  Laughter-louing  Gods"  instead  of  Goddesse, 
which  was  afterwards  substituted.  Here  and  there  emendations 
were  adopted  for  the  improvement  of  the  metre,  as  in  Sonnet  xxxv, 
where  the  first  edition  defectively  reads,  — 

"  And  I,  though  borne  in  a  colder  clime," 
which  the  second  edition  alters  to  — 

"  And  I,  though  borne  within  a  colder  clime." 
Again,  in  Sonnet  xliiii,  the  first  edition  has  — 

"  Deckt  with  her  youth,  whereon  the  world  smyleth ;  " 
but  the  second  restores  the  measure  of  the  verse  thus :  — 

"Deckt  with  her  youth,  whereon  the  world  now  smyleth." 
It  is  very  certain  that  some  of  Daniel's  Sonnets  had  appeared 
in  1591,  at  the  end  of  the  surreptitious  impression  of  Sir  P.  Sid 
ney's  "Astrophel  and  Stella,"  edited  by  Thomas  Nash.  (See  p.  42  .) 
In  fact,  this  forms  Daniel's  excuse  for  printing  his  "  Delia."  In 
the  dedication  to  the  Countess  of  Pembroke,  Daniel  tells  her,  — 
"  Seeing  I  was  betraide  by  the  indiscretion  of  a  greedy  printer, 
and  had  some  of  my  secrets  bewraide  to  the  world  uncorrected, 


ti  (ffnjlislj  Citerature.  213 

doubting  the  like  of  the  rest,  I  am  forced  to  publish  that  which  I 
never  ment; "  and  he  adds  that  the  same  wrong  had  been  done  to 
Sidney,  whom  he  designates  as  Astrophel.  The  "  greedy  printer  " 
was  Thomas  Newman,  who,  not  long  before,  had  published  the 
first  and  unauthorized  impression  of  Sidney's  poems. 

Who  Delia  might  be  we  have  no  information,  but  in  the  48th 
Sonnet  of  the  collection  named  after  her,  we  are  told  that  she 
lived  on  Shakspeare's  river :  — 

"  But  Avon,  rich  in  fame,  though  poor  in  waters, 
Shall  have  my  song,  where  Delia  hath  her  seate: 
Avon  shall  be  my  Thames,  and  she  my  Song; 
He  sound  her  name  the  Ryver  all  along." 

The  fact,  first  stated  in  the  edition  12mo  1595,  that  the  44th 
Sonnet  "  was  made  at  the  Author's  being  in  Italic,"  explains 
how  it  happened  that  he  there  speaks  of  Delia  as  residing  in  the 

North  — 

"  My  joyfull  North,  where  all  my  fortune  lyes." 

However,  in  the  very  same  series  of  Sonnets,  Daniel  avows  his 
affection  for  another  lady,  whom  he  calls  Cynthia,  and  who  ap 
pears  to  have  been  very  cruel  ;  for,  in  Sonnet  40,  he  says  of 
her,  — 

"  Yet  nought  the  rocke  of  that  hard  hart  can  move, 
Where  beate  these  tears  which  zeale  and  fury  driveth; 
And  yet  I  rather  languish  in  her  love, 
Then  I  would  joy  the  fayrest  she  that  liveth." 

In  the  original,  "  which  "  is  misprinted  with  in  the  second  line,  and 
the  obvious  error  is  not  corrected  in  the  later  copy  of  1592.  From 
an  author  like  Daniel  it  cannot  be  necessary  to  quote  specimens, 
but  we  may  point  out  a  clear  allusion  to  Spenser,  and  to  his 
«'  Fairy  Queen,"  which  has  been  noticed  in  the  "  Life  of  Spenser/' 
8vo,  1862,  p.  ci:  it  is  at  the  opening  of  Sonnet  46.  The  first 
three  books  of  Spenser's  work,  in  which,  as  Daniel  says,  were 
many  "  aged  accents  and  untimely  words,'*  had  been  printed,  as 
everybody  is  aware,  in  1590. 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  in  every  edition,  between  the  por 
tion  Daniel  calls  "  Delia  "  and  "  The  Complaint  of  Kosamond,"  is 
inserted  "  an  ode,"  which  was  so  popular  as  to  be  set  to  music  in 
John  Farmer's  "  First  set  of  English  Madrigals,"  1599. 


214  Bibliograpljkal  2Urotmt  of 

DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  The  First  Fowre  Bookes  of  the  civile 
wars  between  the  two  houses  of  Lancaster  and  Yorke. 
By  Samuel  Daniel.  ^Etas  prima  canat  veneres  postrema 
tumultus.  At  London,  Printed  by  P.  Short  for  Simon 
Waterson.  — 1595.  4to.  89  leaves. 

This  is  the  first  edition  of  Daniel's  "  Civil  Wars  "  :  a  fifth  book 
was  added  in  1599,  but  it  is  sometimes  appended  to  the  first  four 
books  in  1595.  As  far  as  regards  the  first  four  books,  the  edition 
of  1599  precisely  agrees  with  that  of  1595,  having  been  printed 
from  the  very  same  types,  and  without  even  the  correctidh  of  the 
errors  of  the  press. 

None  of  Daniel's  biographers  notice  the  fact  that  he  had  trav 
elled  in  Italy,  no  doubt  early  in  life,  and  perhaps  in  the  capacity 
of  tutor  to  the  son  of  the  Countess  of  Pembroke.  That  he  had 
visited  that  country  we  have  upon  his  own  evidence.  In  the  same 
year  that  he  published  the  work  before  us,  he  reprinted  his  "  Delia," 
"  Rosamond,"  and  a  tragedy  called  "  Cleopatra,"  in  1 2mo ;  and  one 
of  the  sonnets  in  his  "  Delia"  is  there  headed,  "  At  the  Author's 
going  into  Italic ; "  and  another,  as  before  shown,  is  thus  intro 
duced,  "  This  Sonnet  was  made  at  the  Author's  being  in  Italic." 

"  The  first  four  Books  of  the  Civil  Wars"  were  ushered  into  the 
world  in  1595,  without  any  dedication  or  prefatory  matter.  The 
probability  is,  that  the  copies  did  not  then  sell,  as  they  were  pre 
ceded  by  a  new  title-page,  and  followed  by  another  book  of  the 
same  poem  in  1599. 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  The  Civile  Wares  betweene  the 
Howses  of  Lancaster  and  Yorke,  corrected  and  con 
tinued  by  Samuel  Daniel,  one  of  the  Groomes  of  hir 
Majesties  most  honorable  Privie  Chamber  &c.  —  Printed 
at  London  by  Simon  Watersonne.  1609.  4to.  120 
leaves. 

The  above  is  an  engraved  title-page  by  F.  Cockson,  containing 
a  portrait  of  Daniel  in  the  centre,  followed  by  the  dedication  to 
the  Countess  Dowager  of  Pembroke,  in  which  the  author  refers  to 


g  <ffnjU0f)  Ctteratur*.  215 

the  many  impressions  through  which  this  work  had  passed,  with 
out  the  addition  of  two  books  (the  third  book  being  enlarged  and 
divided)  which  are  here  for  the  first  time  printed,  making  eight 
books  in  the  whole.  It  brings  down  the  history  to  the  marriage 
of  Edward  IV. ;  but  Daniel,  as  he  informs  Lady  Pembroke,  meant 
to  continue  it  "  to  the  glorious  union  of  Henry  VII."  This  part 
of  his  task  he  never  completed,  but  (as  he  proposed  in  the  end  of 
the  dedication)  commenced  a  history  of  England  in  prose. 

The  alterations  in  this  edition  of  the  "  Civil  Wars,"  even  of 
those  parts  of  the  work  professed  to  be  republished,  are  very  con 
siderable  ;  and  Daniel  omitted  at  the  end  of  the  second  book  an 
elaborate  eulogium  of  the  unfortunate  Earl  of  Essex,  which 
originally  appeared  in  1595,  including  the  following  stanza  : 

"  Thence  might  thy  valor  have  brought  in  despight 
Eternall  tropheis  to  Elizas  name, 
And  laid  downe  at  her  sacred  feete  the  right 
Of  all  thy  deedes,  and  glory  of  the  same. 
And  that  which  by  her  powre,  and  by  thy  might, 
Thou  hadst  attaind  to  her  immortall  fame, 
Had  made  thee  wondred  here,  admir'd  a  farre, 
The  Mercury  of  peace,  the  Mars  of  warre." 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  political  reason  for  excluding  this, 
and  other  stanzas  in  the  same  spirit,  after  James  I.  came  to  the 
throne,  but  they  were  never  reprinted. 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  The  Works  of  Samuel  Daniel.  Newly 
augmented.  ^Etas  prima  canat  veneres,  postrema  tumul- 
tus.  —  London  Printed  for  Simon  Waterson.  1601. 
folio.  193  leaves. 

This  is  an  unknown  edition  of  Daniel's  productions,  but  it  agrees 
in  all  essential  particulars  with  the  common  impression  dated  1602. 
The  poet  seems  to  have  printed  his  Works  in  1601,  upon  large 
paper,  as  gifts  to  his  patrons,  and  the  present  copy  was  accom 
panied  by  a  private  letter  to  Lord  Ellesmere,  then  Sir  Thomas 
Egerton,  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal. 

After  the  title-page  comes  an  address  "  To  her  sacred  Majestic," 


216  33tbliograpl)kal  Account  of 

in  four  octave  stanzas :  then  "  The  Civil  Wars,"  in  six  books,  fol 
lowed  by  "  Musophilus."  The  folios,  which  are  numbered,  end 
with  "  The  Civil  Wars,",  and  fresh  signatures  commence  with 
"  Musophilus."  This  portion  is  succeeded  by  "  a  Letter  from  Oc- 
tavia  to  Marcus  Antonius,"  and  by  "the  Tragedie  of  Cleopatra." 
"  The  Complaint  of  Rosamond  "  precedes  "  Delia,"  consisting  here 
of  fifty-seven  sonnets,  to  which  are  added  "  an  Ode "  and  "  a 
Pastoral,"  concluding  the  volume. 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  A  Panegyrike  Congratulatory  deliv 
ered  to  the  Kings  most  excellent  majesty  at  Burleigh 
Harrington  in  Rutlandshire.     By  Samuel  Daniel.     Also 
certaine  Epistles.     With  a  Defence  of  Ryme  heereto- 
fore  written,  and  now  published  by  the  Author.     Carmen 
amat,  quisquis  carmine  digna  gerit.  —  At  London  Printed 
by  V.  S.  for  Edward  Blount.     n.  d.     folio.     40  leaves. 
Although  there  is  no  date  on  the  general  title-page  of  this  vol 
ume,  the  title-page  to  the  second  portion  of  it,  "  Certaine  Epistles 
after  the  manner  of  Horace,  written  to  divers  noble  Personages," 
bears  the  date  of  1603.     There  is  a  third  title-page  to  the  "De 
fence  of  Ryme  against  a  pamphlet  entituled  Observations  on  the 
Art  of  English  Poesie,"  without  date,  and  this  last  portion  of  the 
work  is  sometimes,  though  rarely,  found  appended  to  the  folio  edi 
tion  of  Daniel's  Works,  1602.     The  first  and  third  title-pages  are 
within  ornamental  compartments,  with  the  royal  arms  at  the  top, 
and  Queen  Elizabeth's  favorite  motto,  Semper  eadem,  below  them. 
Only  two  or  three  complete  copies  of  this  edition  of  Daniel's 
"  Panegyric  Congratulatory"  and  "  Epistles  "  are  yet  known,  and 
it  was  most  likely  printed  for  presents.    We  have  that  copy  before 
us  which  he  gave  to  Lady  Pembroke,  as  is  testified  by  her  auto 
graph.     PC  also  probably  gave  them  to  the  "  noble  personages  " 
whom  he  addresses  in  the  "  Epistles,"  viz.,  Sir  Thomas  Egerton  ; 
Lord  Henry  Howard  ;  the  Countess  of  Cumberland ;  the  Count 
ess  of  Bedford  ;  Lady  Anne  Clifford  ;  the  Earl  of  Southampton  ; 
and  the  Earl  of  Hertford.     The  volume  has  an  introductory  ded- 


<£arlt)  ffinglisl)  Citcraturr.  217 

ication  to  the  latter,  which  was  not  afterwards  reprinted.  This 
folio  probably  came  from  the  press  before  James  I.  reached  Lon 
don,  and  the  "  Panegyric  Congratulatory  "  was  delivered  to  him 
in  Rutlandshire. 

Daniel  very  seldom  reprinted  a  poem  without  making  altera 
tions,  more  or  less  important,  in  it.  The  40th  stanza  of  the 
"  Panegyric,"  in  the  folio  before  us,  reads  as  follows  :  — 

"  We  shall  continue  one,  and  be  the  same 
In  Law,  in  Justice,  Magistrate,  and  forme : 
Thou  wilt  not  touch  the  fundamentall  frame 
Of  this  Estate  thy  Ancestors  did  forme; 
But  with  a  reverence  of  their  glorious  fame 
Seeke  onely  the  corruptions  to  reforme : 
Knowing  that  course  is  best  to  be  observ'de 
Whereby  a  State  hath  longest  beene  preserv'd." 

In  the  8vo  edition,  which  must  have  come  out  just  afterwards, 
it  runs  thus  :  — 

"  We  shall  continue  and  remaine  all  one, 
In  Law,  in  Justice,  and  in  Magestrate: 
Thou  wilt  not  alter  the  foundation 
Thy  Ancestors  have  laide  of  this  Estate, 
Nor  greeve  thy  Land  with  innovation, 
Nor  take  from  us  more  then  thou  will  collate ; 
Knowing  that  course  is  best  to  be  observ'de 
Whereby  a  State  hath  longest  been  preserv'd." 

It  may  be  matter  of  speculation  whether  the  author  was  induced 
to  alter  the  stanza  on  account  of  any  objection  by  persons  in  au 
thority  to  the  tone  and  spirit  of  its  anticipations,  or,  because  he 
himself  disliked,  as  a  matter  of  taste,  that  three  lines  should  end 
with  the  syllable  "  forme."  Spenser,  Drayton,  and  many  other 
contemporaries  of  Daniel,  thought  rhymes  having  precisely  the 
same  sound  admissible. 

The  title-page  in  which  Daniel  claims  that  his  Epistles  are 
"  after  the  manner  of  Horace  "  was  omitted  in  the  reimpression 
of  1603,  in  8vo. 

The  "  Observations  in  the  Art  of  English  Poesie,"  against  which 
Daniel  wrote  his  "  Defence  of  Ryme,"  was  the  work  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Campion,  a  physician,  poet,  and  musical  composer,  and  it  was  pub 
lished  with  the  date  of  1602.  We  learn  from  an  address  preced- 


218  Uibltograpijtml  Account  of 

ing  Daniel's  "  Defence,"  that  he  had  written  it  in  the  form  of  a 
private  letter  to  a  learned  friend  about  a  year  before,  but  of 
course  subsequent  to  the  date  when  he  had  first  seen  Dr.  Cam 
pion's  "  Observations."  When  Daniel  printed  it,  it  was  addressed 
"  to  William  Herbert,  Earl  of  Pembroke,"  who  had  been  his 
pupil :  of  him  Daniel  says  that  he  "  in  blood  and  nature  is  inter 
ested  "  to  take  part  against  Campion,  who  was  the  advocate  of 
blank  verse. 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  A  Panegyrike  Congratulatorie  de- 
liuered  to  the  Kings  most  excellent  Majestie  at  Burleigh 
Harrington  in  Rutlandshire.  By  Samuel  Daniel.  Also 
certaine  Epistles  with  a  Defence  of  Ryme  &c.  —  At 
London  Imprinted  for  Edward  Blount.  1603.  8vo. 
63  leaves. 

This  is  substantially  the  same  work  as  the  folio  which  came  out 
before  it,  but,  as  has  been  already  pointed  out,  there  are  variations 
besides  such  as  are  merely  typographical.  The  "  Defence  of 
Rhime  "  has  a  separate  title-page,  and  occupies  the  last  twenty - 
eisrht  leaves. 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  Certaine  small  Poems  lately  printed : 
with  the  Tragedie  of  Philotas.  Written  by  Samuel 
Daniel,  &c.  —  At  London  Printed  by  G.  Eld  for  Simon 
Waterson.  1605.  8vo.  110  leaves. 

This  volume  consists  of  pieces  formerly  printed  by  Daniel,  and 
of  the  tragedy  of  Philotas,  which  appeared  here  for  the  first  time, 
with  a  dedication  to  Prince  Henry,  containing  these  lines,  which 
are  personally  interesting  :  — 

"  And  therefore,  since  I  have  outliv'd  the  date 
Of  former  grace,  acceptance,  and  delight, 
I  would  my  lines,  late-borne  beyond  the  fate 
Of  her  spent  line,  had  never  come  to  light. 
So  had  I  not  been  taxd  for  wishing  well, 
Nor  now  mistaken  by  the  censuring  stage, 


(EnglisI)  £ iterator*.  219 

Nor  in  my  fame  nor  reputation  fell ; 

Which  I  esteeme  more  then  what  all  the  age, 

Or  th'  earth  can  give.     But  years  hath  done  this  wrong, 

To  make  me  write  too  much,  and  live  too  long." 

It  seems  that  the  story  of  Philotas  received  an  application  to 
some  of  the  incidents  of  the  life  of  the  unfortunate  Earl  of  Essex, 
and  when  the  tragedy  was  reprinted  it  was  accompanied  by  an 
"  Apology,"  in  which  Daniel  says  :  "  And  for  any  resemblance 
that,  through  the  ignorance  of  the  history,  may  be  applied  to  the 
Earl  of  Essex,  it  can  hold  no  proportion,  but  only  in  his  weak 
nesses,  which  I  would  all  that  love  his  memory  not  to  revive." 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  The  First  Part  of  the  Historie  of 
England.  By  Samuel  Danyel.  —  London,  Printed  by 
Nicholas  Okes  dwelling  neere  Holborne  bridge.  1612. 
4to.  117  leaves. 

This  seems  to  have  been  a  private  impression  of  the  earlier  por 
tion  of  Daniel's  History  of  England,  ending  with  the  reign  of 
Stephen.  He  intended  to  distribute  some  copies  as  presents,  and 
that  before  us  was  doubtless  given  by  him  to  Lord  Ellesmere.  At 
the  end  is  a  note,  which  shows  that  the  work  was  not  printed  for 
sale  in  1612. 

Daniel  had  promised  to  write  the  History  of  England  from  the 
Conquest,  in  the  dedication  of  his  complete  edition  of  the  "  Civil 
Wars  "  to  the  Countess  of  Pembroke  ;  but  he  brought  it  no  lower 
than  the  reign  of  Edward  III.,  and  printed  it  in  folio  as  a  private 
speculation  about  1618.  He  died  in  October  of  the  following 
year.  The  edition  before  us  is  dedicated  to  Viscount  Rochester, 
and  the  first  and  third  books  (for  it  has  three  divisions)  mention 
him  in  the  opening  paragraphs.  After  the  disgrace  of  that  noble 
man,  all  allusion  to  him  was  omitted. 


DANIEL,  SAMUEL.  —  The   Collection   of  the   Historie  of 
England.      By  S.   D.  —  London,   Printed  by  Nicholas 


220  Bibliographical  2Uccmnt  of 

Okes  dwelling  in   Foster-lane   for  the  Author.       Cum 
Privilegio.     n.  d.     fol.     115  leaves. 

Daniel's  privilege  to  print  this  work  and  an  "  Appendix  "  (which 
never  appeared)  for  his  own  benefit,  is  opposite  the  title-page  on 
a  separate  leaf,  and  dated  "11  March,  15  James  I."  It  never 
was  regularly  published,  and  the  author  opens  his  preface  in  these 
terms  :  —  "  This  Peece  of  our  History,  which  here  I  divulge  not, 
but  impart  privately  to  such  worthy  persons  as  have  favoured  my 
endeavours,"  &c.  One  of  these  was  the  first  Earl  of  Bridgewater, 
who  no  doubt  followed  up  the  patronage  which  his  father,  Lord 
Ellesmere,  had  extended  to  Daniel,  and  therefore  took  a  large 
paper  copy  of  this  work.  It  has  no  date, but  it  must  have  appeared 
prior  to  the  author's  death  in  October,  1619,  and  subsequent  to  the 
date  of  the  royal  privilege.  The  author  complains  that  ill-health 
had  delayed  his  undertaking.  It  brings  our  history  down  to  the 
end  of  Edward  III. ;  and  subjoined  is  a  brief  notice,  concluding 
with  these  words  :  "  And  here  I  leave,  unlesse  by  this  which  is 
done  I  finde  incouragement  to  goe  on."  The  work,  in  1634,  was 
continued  to  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  by  John  Trussell. 

We  may  add  that  Daniel's  will  bears  date  on  the  4th  Sept. 
1619.  (See  Shaksp.  Soc.  Papers,  iv.  156.)  In  it  he  makes  bequests 
only  to  persons  of  the  name  of  Bowre,  and  to  his  brother  John 
Daniel. 


DARCIE,  ABRAHAM.  —  Frances  Duchesse  Dowager  of 
Richmond  and  Lenox  &c.  her  Funerall  Teares.  Or 
Larmes  Funebres  de  1'illustre  Princesse  Francoise 
Duchesse  Dowagere  de  Richmond  et  de  Lenox  &c.  pour 
la  Mort  et  Perte  de  son  cher  Espoux,  &c.  Louis  de 
Obegny  Due  de  Richmond  et  de  Lenox  &c.  Qui  deceda 
le  16  Februrier  1624  en  la  maison  Royale  de  Whit-hall. 
&c.  n.  d.  8vo.  58  leaves. 

No  bookseller's  name  is  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  volume, 
which  was  most  likely  printed  by  the  author,  Abraham  Darcie, 
for,  not  always  disinterested,  presents.  A  copy  was  given  to  the 


(Snglblj  Cihrature.  221 

Earl  of  Bridgewater,  and  at  the  end  of  it  is  placed  a  large  folded 
leaf,  containing  a  poem  on  the  deaths  of  his  Lordship's  two  infant 
sons,  James  and  Charles,  to  whom  King  James  and  Prince  Charles 
had  been  godfathers  :  the  one  expired  on  the  30th  of  December, 
1620,  and  the  other  on  the  18th  of  April,  1623.  The  dates  are 
filled  up  in  MS.  by  the  author,  who  in  the  introduction  to  his 
verses  professed  "  to  immortalize  the  noble  memory  "  of  the  young 
persons  he  celebrated.  The  lines  are  in  English  and  French,  and 
they  are  placed  in  two  columns,  opposite  each  other.  The  English 
begins  as  follows :  — 

"  Faire  beames  of  short  continuance,  yet  most  bright, 
If  your  wisht  luster,  and  desired  light 
Hath  had  too  sudden  and  untimely  end, 
Such  destiny  doth  on  faire  things  attend: 
A  morning  is  the  Roses  chiefest  prime, 
And  flower-de-luces  dye  in  blooming  time." 

These  are  the  best  out  of  the  thirty-six  lines  of  which  the  poem 
consists  ;  and  the  corresponding  French  verses  are  these  :  — 

"  Beaux  Rayons,  plus  clairs  que  durables, 
Si  vos  lumieres  desirables 
On  eut  leur  fin  en  commen9ant, 
C'est  le  Destin  des  belles  choses: 
Un  matin  est  1'aage  des  Roses, 
Et  les  Lis  meurent  en  naissant." 

Darcie  seems  to  have  written  with  about  as  much  facility  in 
French  as  in  English.  The  first  five-and-twenty  pages  of  his 
elegiac  production  on  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond  are 
in  both  languages,  and  the  rest  in  English  only,  including  twenty- 
four  pages  of  prose  at  the  end,  entitled,  "  The  World's  Contempt," 
by  which  he  means  contempt  for  the  world.  In  the  first  part  of 
the  tract  is  inserted  a  long  and  very  particular  account  of  the 
funeral  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  on  which  occasion  the  Earl  of 
Bridgewater  was  one  of  the  mourners.  As  a  specimen  of  Dar- 
cie's  versification,  the  subsequent  lines  are  taken  from  that  part 
of  his  work  which  has  the  running  title  of  "  Funeral  Consola 
tions  " :  — 

"  God's  Writt  and  Reason  doth  command  to  \veepe, 
And  shed  salt  teares  upon  their  Tombs  which  sleepe : 


222  Bibltogrctpljtcal  Tlcamnt  of 

To  be  remorselesse  in  the  death  of  friends 

To  natures  inconveniency  tends, 

To  savage  temper  too  too  neere  affinity, 

The  eversion  of  the  ground  of  piety, 

Which  is  in  others  miseries  to  beare 

Part  of  their  sorrows,  and  a  mutual  share; 

But  as  some  griefe  the  Law  of  God's  commanding, 

So  too  much  sorrow's  want  of  understanding. 

No  sorrow  is  a  sign  of  brutish  state, 

But  yet  too  much  proves  one  effeminate. 

That  mans  account  is  to  most  goodnesse  come, 

Of  which  the  golden  mean's  the  totall  summe." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Duchess  of  Richmond  had  some  bet 
ter  grounds  of  consolation  than  are  afforded  by  such  lines  as  these. 
Darcie's  "Annales  "  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  translated  from  the 
French,  because,  as  Fuller  says,  Darcie  did  not  understand  Cam- 
den's  Latin,  came  out  in  1625,  4to. 


DAVIE,  SAMPSON.  —  The  ende  and  confession  of  Tho. 
Norton  of  Yorkshire,  the  popishe  rebell,  and  Chr.  Nor 
ton  his  nephew;  which  suffered  at  Tiburn  for  treason 
the  27  of  May.  — Printed  by  W.  Howe.  1570.  8vo. 
8  leaves. 

The  Nortons  were  "  hanged,  headed  and  quartered  "  two  days 
after  Felton  had  placed  the  Pope's  Bull  on  the  gate  of  the  Bishop 
of  London,  so  that  the  anti-papistical  feeling  was  perhaps  never 
stronger  than  at  that  moment.  We  may  conclude  that  Sampson 
Davie's  poems  on  the  occasion,  dated  1570,  were  published  as  soon 
as  possible  after  the  event  they  celebrate.  They  are  of  the 
utmost  rarity. 

The  first  poem,  occupying  two  pages,  is  addressed  "  Unto  the 
Christian  Reader,"  and  the  second,  filling  about  the  same  space, 
is  thus  headed,  "  The  Confession  and  ende  of  Thomas  Norton." 
The  third  is  longer  than  those  which  precede  it,  and  is  entitled, 
"  The  ende  and  Confession  of  Christopher  Norton."  The  fourth 
is  called,  "  An  exhortation  to  all  true  subjects,  and  a  warning  to 


(Parlg  tfrngtislj  Citerahtrr.  223 

the  Papists."  The  last  poem  is  headed,  "  To  the  Papists,"  and  is 
not  in  the  same  ballad-metre  as  the  other  productions :  we  quote 
it  entire  :  — 

"  You  Popish  route, 
Looke  well  aboute 

And  warning  hereby  take, 
Unless  you  swinge 
In  Tyburne  stringe 

As  some  did  but  of  late. 

"  Your  selves  submit, 
As  it  is  fit, 

Unto  the  Lorde  above: 
Then,  as  I  deeme, 
Our  noble  Queene 

Ye  cannot  choose  but  love. 

"  Which  doth  maintaine, 
I  tell  you  plaine, 

Gods  word  which  is  so  pure : 
Why  do  you,  then, 
Kesist  againe, 
And  treason  so  procure? 

"  I  do  not  faine, 
But  tell  you  plaine, 

If  you  do  not  amend, 
Such  plagues  may  fall 
As  will  you  gall ; 
And  thus  I  make  an  end. 

Finis  qd  Sampson  Davie." 

This  was  entered  at  Stationers'  Hall  by  William  Pickering  just 
after  the  event,  which  gave  rise  to  several  other  popular  effu 
sions  :  one  of  these,  a  broadside,  was  licensed  to  Henry  Kirkham, 
and  it  had  for  title,  "A  description  of  Nortons  in  Yorkeshyre  : "  it 
has  come  down  to  us  with  the  name  of  William  Gibson  at  the  end 
of  it,  and  was  printed  by  Alexander  Lacy.  Richard  Jones  also 
published,  and  William  Howe  printed,  "  The  severall  Confessions 
of  Thomas  Norton  and  Christopher  Norton,  two  of  the  northern 
Rebels,  who  suffered  at  Tyburn  and  were  drawn,  hanged  and 
quartered  for  Treason,  May  27."  Of  this  also  we  have  seen  a 
copy. 


224  BibUograpIjkal  TUcoimt  of 

DA  VIES,  JOHN.  —  Mirum  in  Modum.  A  Glimpse  of  Gods 
Glorie  and  the  Soules  Shape.  &c.  —  London  Printed  for 
William  Aspley.  1602.  4to.  42  leaves. 

This  seems  to  be  the  first  printed  work  of  its  voluminous 
author ;  *  but  that  he  had  written  earlier  we  have  evidence  in  his 
"  Wittes  Pilgrimage,"  4to,  n.  d.,  which  contains  (sign.  V  i.)  "  A 
Dump  upon  the  death  of  the  most  noble  Henrie  late  Earle  of 
Pembrooke,"  who  died  in  1601.  "  Wittes  Pilgrimage"  is  a  col 
lection  of  many  scattered  pieces,  which  Davies  had  composed 
between  the  years  1600  and  1618,  but  which  possess  little  merit 
or  originality,  and  remained  unpublished  till  shortly  before  the 
author's  death  :  some  account  of  them,  and  of  various  others, 
may  be  seen  in  Brit.  Bibl.  II.  247,  where  they  receive  more 
attention  than  they  deserve.  His  Mirum  in  Modum  is  a  very 
dull  and  unintelligible  discourse,  in  various  stanzas,  upon  the  soul, 
its  faculties,  &c.,  and  the  author  very  appropriately  placed  these 
two  lines  by  way  of  motto  on  his  title-page  :  — 

"  Eyes  must  be  bright,  or  else  no  eyes  at  all 
Can  see  this  sight  much  more  then  mysticall." 

It  is  dedicated  to  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  Sir  Robert  Sidney,  and 
Edward  Herbert,  Esq.,  in  a  sonnet  wherein  the  author  devotes  his 
understanding,  will,  and  memory  to  them  ;  and  in  the  last  coup 
let  he  parts  between  the  three,  his  soul,  his  book,  and  his  "  broken 
heart."  It  does  not  however  appear  that  he  had  met  with  any 
particular  affliction  at  this  period.  He  arbitrarily  divides  his 
subject ;  and  the  following  stanza,  which,  from  its  reference  to  the 
literature  of  the  time,  is  worth  quoting,  concludes  his  first  divis 
ion  :  — 

"  Halla!  my  Muse:  heere  rest  a  breathing  while, 
Sith  thou  art  now  arriv'd  at  Reasons  seate; 
To  whom,  as  to  thy  Sov'raigne,  reconcile 
Thy  straying  thoughts,  and  humbty  hir  intreate 
With  her  just  measure  all  thy  lines  to  meate; 

1  We  ought  to  have  said  "  first  separately  printed  work,"  because  in 
Vol.  III.  article  WILLIAM  PARKY,  is  given  Davies's  earliest  printed  work, 
namely,  a  Sonnet  to  W.  Parry  on  his  narrative  of  the  Travels  of  the 
Sherleys. 


fj  £iterata«.  225 

Lest  that,  like  many  Rimers  of  our  time, 
Thou  blotst  much  paper  without  meane  or  measure, 
In  verse  whose  reason  runneth  al  to  rime : 
Yet  of  the  Lawrell  wreathe  they  make  a  seazure, 
And  doth  Minerva  so  a  shrewde  displeasure." 


DA  VIES,  JOHN.  —  Bien  Venu.  Greate  Britaines  Welcome 
to  hir  greate  Friendes  and  deere  Brethren,  the  Danes 
&c.  —  Imprinted  at  London  for  Nathaniel  Butter  &c. 
1606.  4to.  12  leaves. 

This  rare  temporary  production  is  dedicated  by  John  Davies  of 
Hereford,  in  a  sonnet,  to  Philip  Herbert,  Earl  of  Montgomery,  and 
to  Sir  James  Hayes,  Knight.  It  was  written  to  celebrate  the 
arrival  in  London  of  the  King  of  Denmark  and  his  suite,  and  is 
entirely  in  the  octave  stanza.  Of  himself  Davies  querulously 
says : — 

"  But  ah,  (alas!)  my  short-wing' d  Muse  doth  hant 
None  but  the  obscure  corners  of  the  earth, 
Where  she  with  naught  but  care  is  conversant, 
Which  makes  her  curse  her  case,  and  ban  her  birth ! 
Where  she  (except  she  would  turne  ignorant) 
Must  live,  'till  die  she  must,  in  mournfull  mirth; 
Which  is  the  cherishing  the  World  doth  give 
To  those  that  muse  to  die,  not  muse  to  live." 

Davies  seems  to  have  entertained  the  notion  that  to  rhyme  was 
the  chief  art  of  poetry,  although,  above,  he  charges  others  with 
letting  their  "  reason  run  all  to  rhime  " :  of  no  man  could  it  be 
more  truly  said  than  of  himself,  that  he  blotted  "  much  paper  with 
out  meane  or  measure."  His  thoughts  are  oftener  far-fetched 
than  new  or  appropriate  ;  and  he  was  overweening  in  his  self- 
estimate. 


DAVIES,  JOHN.  —  rnhr     Summa  Totalis  or  All  in  All,  and 
the  same  for  ever :  Or  an  Addition  to  Mirum  in  Modum. 
By  the  first  Author  John  Davies. 
VOL.  i.  15 


226  Biblujgrapljkal  Account  of 

Those  lines  which  all  or  none  perceive  aright 
Have  neither  Judgment,  Art,  Wit,  Life  or  Spright. 

London  Printed  by  William  Jaggard  dwelling  in  Barbi 
can.     1607.     4to.     42  leaves. 

This  author's  Mirum  in  Modum,  to  which  the  present  work  is 
an  "Addition,"  appeared,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1602.  They  are 
both  of  the  same  ethical  and  religious  character:  the  most  com 
monplace  topics  are  handled  with  a  tedious  and  important  air  of 
mystery,  which  the  author  seems  to  have  mistaken  for  profound 
metaphysical  reasoning.  This  production  is  dedicated  to  Lord 
and  Lady  Ellesmere  in  the  following  sonnet :  — 

"  To  the  right  Honourable  mine  approved  good  Lord  and  Master,  Thomas 
Lord  Elsmere,  Lord  Chancellor  of  England :  and  to  his  right  noble  Lady 
and  Wife,  Alice,  Countesse  of  Derby,  my  good  Lady  and  Mistresse,  be 
all  felicitie,  consisting  in  the  sight  of  the  Objective  Beatitude." 
"  The  time,  my  duty,  and  your  deere  desert 
(Deservedly  Right  Noble)  do  conspire 
To  make  me  consecrate  (besides  my  Heart) 
This  IMAGE  to  you,  forg'd  with  heavenly  fire! 
The  backe-parts  of  his  FORME,  who  formed  this  ALL, 
(Characterd  by  the  hand  of  loving  Feare) 
Are  shaddow'd  here:  but  (ah)  they  are  too  small 
To  shew  their  greatnesse,  which  ne'er  compast  were ! 
But  though  that  Greatnesse  be  past  quantity, 
And  Goodnes  doth  all  quality  exceed, 
Yet  I  this  Forme  of  formelesse  DEITY 
Drewe  by  the  Squire  and  Compasse  of  our  CREED. 
Then  (with  your  greater  GUIFTS)  accept  this  small; 
Yet  (being  right)  it's  more  then  ALL  in  ALL! 

Your  Honors  in  all  duety  most  bounden, 
John  Davies  of  Hereford." 

"  Squire,"  in  the  12th  line,  is  what  we  now  call  square,  not  a 
parallelogram,  but  a  measure.  Some  old  authors  spell  it  "  squire," 
and  others  square. 

Davies  was  a  writing-master  by  occupation,  and  in  the  Epitaph 
upon  himself,  in  his  "  Wit's  Bedlam,"  1617,  he  tells  us  that  he 
"loved  fair  writing,"  and  had  "taught  it  others":  he  resided  in 
Oxford  for  this  purpose,  but  was  not  (as  Wood  erroneously  sup 
posed,  Anth.  Oxon.  II.  264,  edit.  Bliss)  a  member  of  that  Univer- 


(farlg  (Sngltslj  Ctteratuu.  227 

sity.  He  has  corrected  the  copy  we  use  (which  no  doubt  was 
presented  by  him  to  Lord  Ellesmere)  very  neatly  in  several  places, 
and  has  added  some  MS.  marginal  notes.  It  is  singular  that, 
when  correcting  it,  he  did  not  perceive  that  sheet  G  was  a 
duplicate. 


DAVIES,  JOHN.  —  The  Holy  Roode,  or  Christs  Grosser 
Containing  Christ  Crucified,  described  in  Speaking- 
picture.  By  John  Davies. 

And  who  in  passion  sweetely  sing  the  same 
Doe  glorifie  their  owne  in  Jesus  Name. 

Crux  Christi  clavis  Cceli.  —  London  Printed  for  N.  But 
ter.     1609.     4to.     40  leaves. 

The  date  is  not  on  the  title-page,  (which  is  in  an  arabesque 
compartment,  with  figures  of  Minerva  and  Diana  on  either  side,) 
but  at  the  end.  The  dedication  is  "to  the  Right  Honourable, 
well  accomplished  Lady,  Alice,  Countesse  of  Derby,  my  good  Lady 
and  Mistresse  :  And  to  her  three  right  Noble  Daughters  by  Birth, 
Nature  and  Education,  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  Countess  of  Hunting 
don,  The  Lady  Francis  Egerton,  and  the  Lady  Anne,  Wife  to 
the  truely  Noble  Lord  Gray,  Lord  Chandois  that  now  is."  On 
the  fly-leaf  is  the  following  letter,  not  addressed  to,  but  obviously 
intended  for,  Lord  Ellesmere.  It  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Davies, 
and  it  is  a  beautiful  and  elaborate  specimen  of  his  penmanship  :  — 

"  Amonge  many  worldly  Crosses,  no  worldlie  Comfort  do  I  enjoy  more 
comfortable  then 'your  Honours  effectuall  favour,  beeing  the  onely  help- 
full  Stay  (under  God)  my  poore  tempest  beaten  fortunes  ever  found  to 
repose  them.  Ah !  my  good  Lord,  your  Honour  hath  wounded  my  -Heart 
with  the  deepest  dutifull  affection,  in  that  undesired  (o,  forcible  favoure) 
you  had  that  Care  of  me,  as  finding  mee  in  the  Subsedie-booke  at  x11  Land, 
having  not  so  much  (god  helpe  mee)  of  mine  owne  in  possession  nor  re- 
vercion  as  will  bury  mee,  to  ease  me  thereof  with  your  owne  honorable 
upright  hand:  for  which  and  for  all  other  your  Honours  not  onely  grace- 
full  but  helpfull  favour  towards  myne  unworthie  self  (my  Venison  often 


228  Bibliographical  3Uamnt  of 

tymes  receaved,  but  never  by  word  remembred)  not  forgotten,  I  returne 
your  Lo.  a  Crosse  for  your  Comfort,  and  withall  the  Almes  of  a  Beggar. 
God  blesse,  and  reward  you. 
ever  remayning 

Yo1  Honors  most  bounden 

Vassal!, 
Jo:  Dauies." 

At  this  date  Lord  Ellesmere  had  been  married  nine  years  to 
the  Countess  of  Derby,  to  whom  (with  her  daughters,  one  of 
whom  had  married  the.  son  of  Lord  Ellesmere)  the  printed  dedica 
tion  is  addressed :  it  is  in  alternate  rhyme,  but  of  no  merit,  and 
the  whole  poem  is  serious  and  tedious.  It  is  preceded  by  com 
mendatory  verses  by  Sir  Edw.  Herbert,  Michael  Drayton,  and 
N.  Deeble  :  Drayton's  sonnet  may  be  quoted,  on  account  of  the 
celebrity  of  its  author,  and  the  peculiarity  of  its  construction, 
the  whole  running  upon  only  two  rhymes  : 

"  Such  men  as  hold  intelligence  with  Letters, 
And  in  that  nice  and  narrow  way  of  Verse, 
As  oft  they  lend,  so  oft  they  must  be  Debters, 
If  with  the  Muses  they  will  have  commerce. 
Seldome  at  Stawles  me  this  way  men  rehearse 
To  mine  Inferiours,  nor  unto  my  Betters : 
He  stales  his  lines  that  so  doeth  them  disperce. 
I  am  so  free,  I  love  not  golden  fetters ; 
And  many  lines  'fore  Writers  be  but  setters 
To  them  which  cheate  with  Papers;  which  doth  pierse 
Our  credits,  when  we  shew  our  selves  Abetters 
To  those  that  wrong  our  knowledge :  we  rehearse 
Often  (my  good  John,  and  I  love)  thy  Letters, 
Which  lend  me  credit,  as  I  lend  my  verse. 

Michael  Drayton." 

No  other  instance  of  such  a  poetical  caprice  seems  to  be  known, 
and  Drayton  must  have  meant  to  commend  Davies's  subject,  rather 
than  the  treatment  of  it.  The  poem  itself  is  in  two  hundred  and 
four  six-line  stanzas :  at  the  end  are  eight  pious  sonnets  of  no 
greater  merit  than  the  rest  of  the  volume.  Davies's  best  work  is 
unquestionably  his  "  Scourge  of  Folly,"  consisting  mainly  of  epi 
grams  and  satires,  which  is  praised  by  H.  Parrot  in  his  Laquei 
Ridiculosi,  1613. 


g  Cniglislj  Cttcrature.  229 

DA  VIES,  JOHN.  —  A  Scourge  for  Paper-Persecutors,  or 
Papers  Complaint,  compil'd  in  ruthfull  Rimes, 
Against  the  Paper-spoylers  of  these  Times 

By  J.  D.  With 
A  continu'd  just  Inquisition 
Of  the  same  subject,  fit  for  the  season. 

Against  Paper-Persecutors.    By  A.  H.  —  Printed  at  Lon 
don  for  H.  H.  and  G.  G.  &c.     1625.     4to.     17  leaves. 
The  first  portion  of  this  tract  was  originally  printed  about  1610, 
in  "  The  Scourge  of  Folly,"  "  by  John  Da  vies,  of  Hereford  ;  "  and 
on  the  title-page  of  the  tract  before  us  the  plate  used  for  "  The 
Scourge   of  Folly,"  representing  Folly  on  the   back  of  Time 
scourged  by  Wit,  is  repeated.    It  attacks  many  of  the  most  popu 
lar  authors  as  Paper-persecutors,  including  Churchyard,  (who  had 
been  dead  some  years,)  Sir  John  Harington,  and  apparently  Shak- 
speare  in  the  following  lines.     Paper,  personified,  speaks  : 
"  Another  (ah !  Lord  helpe  mee)  vilifies 
With  Art  of  Love,  and  how  to  subtilize ; 
Making  lewd  Venus,  with  eternall  lines, 
To  tye  Adonis  to  her  loves  designes. 
Fine  wit  is  shew'n  therein;  but  finer  't  were, 
If  not  attir'd  in  such  bawdy  Geare. 
But  be  it  as  it  will,  the  coyest  Dames 
In  private  reade  it  for  their  Closset-games." 

In  Cranley's  "Amanda,"  1635,  4to,  Shakspeare's  "Venus  and 
Adonis  "  is  spoken  of  as  forming  part  of  the  library  of  a  lady  of 
pleasure.!  Thomas  Nash  and  Harvey  are  severely  handled  by 
Davies,  especially  the  former,  as  the  author  of  an  indecent  work 
still  existing  in  MS.  Robert  Greene,  Samuel  Rowlands,  Thomas 
Dekker,  and  others  not  so  distinctly  pointed  out,  come  in  for  their 
share ;  after  which  the  author  gives  a  blow  to  old  Stow  and  the 
Chroniclers,  and,  having  made  a  passing  stroke  at  the  dedicators 
of  trash  to  the  nobility,  (entirely  forgetting  how  responsible  he 
was  himself  on  the  very  same  score,)  he  concludes  with  some 
solemn  reflections. 

1  Cranley's  lines  may  be  seen  in  Shaksp.  pub.  by  Whittaker  1858  Vol 
VI.  p.  481. 


230  Bibliographical  2Uwmnt  of 

The  name  of  the  Continuator,  A.  H.,  is  not  known.  Anthony 
Wood  conjectures  it  to  have  been  Abraham  Hartwell ;  but  he  was 
mistaken  (Ath.  Oxon.  II.,  504,  edit.  Bliss)  in  assigning  the  earlier 
portion  of  this  volume  to  Dr.  Donne.  A.  H.  goes  over  much  the 
same  ground  as  Davies,  bringing  the  list  of  authors  down  to  the 
year  1625.  He  excepts  Ben  Jonson  and  Michael  Dray  ton  from 
his  censure,  but  does  not  spare  John  Taylor  the  Water-poet,  nor 
the  ballad-makers  of  the  time,  especially  pointing  out  such  as  (like 
Darcie,  p.  220)  had  written  elegies  on  the  deaths  of  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Richmond.  Several  of  these  are  preserved  in  the 
library  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  have  little  or  no  merit. 


DAVISON,  FRANCIS.  —  A  Poetical  Rapsodie,  Containing: 
Diverse  Sonnets,  Odes,  Elegies,  Madrigals,  Epigrams, 
Pastorals,  Eglogues,  with  other  poems,  both  in  rime  and 
measured  verse.  For  varietie  and  pleasure  the  like  neuer 
yet  published. 

The  Bee  and  Spider  by  a  diuerse  power, 

Sucke  Hony  and  Poyson  from  the  selfe  same  flower. 

Newly  corrected  and  augmented.  —  London,  Printed  by 
William  Stansby  for  Roger  lackson  dwelling  in  Fleet- 
street  neere  the  great  Conduit.  1611.  8vo.  112  leaves. 

This  was  the  last  impression  issued  in  the  lifetime  of  the  author- 
editor,  Francis  Davison,  eldest  son  to  unfortunate  Secretary  Da- 
vison,  who  died  in  1608,  leaving  four  sons  and  two  daughters.1  It 
is  believed  that  Francis  Davison  himself  died  in  1619,  before  any 
of  his  brothers  and  sisters.  The  collection,  which  is  even  superior 
in  some  respects  to  "  England's  Helicon,"  1600,  was  made  in  imi- 

1  In  1602  young  Francis  Davison  was  disappointed  in  his  hope  of  going 
abroad  as  Secretary  to  Parry;  and  Chamberlain,  in  one  of  his  letters  dated 
June  8, 1602,  says:  —  "  Yt  seemes  young  Davison  meanes  to  take  another 
course  and  turne  poet,  for  he  hath  lately  set  out  certain  Sonnets  and  Ep 
igrams."  The  allusion,  no  doubt,  was  to  the  first  edition  of  the  "  Poetical 
Rhapsody." 


«nglt0I)  Citeratnre.  231 

tation  of  it,  and  first  appeared  in  1602.  Such  was  its  popularity 
that  it  was  reprinted,  with  additions,  in  1608,  1611,  and  1621  :  in 
the  last  impression,  after  Francis  Davison's  death,  the  materials 
were  rearranged.  At  the  end  of  four  leaves,  containing  the  alpha 
betical  contents,  are  the  initials  D.  P.,  but  why  they  were  placed 
there,  or  what  or  whom  they  mean,  is  nowhere  explained.  The 
mere  list  was  hardly  worth  owning. 

We  notice  the  volume  here  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  pointing 
out  an  important  error  that  must  have  been  committed  in  assign 
ing  one  of  the  longest  and  most  striking  poems  to  a  man  who 
clearly  could  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  We  refer  to  the 
first  "  Eglogue,"  which  at  the  end  has  the  initials  F.  D.,  which  Sir 
H.Nicolas  in  his  edition  (8vo,  1826)  enlarged  to  "  Francis  Da- 
vison  " ;  but  he  could  not  have  read  the  production  without  see 
ing  at  once  that  it  contains  passages  which  could  by  no  possibility 
have  been  written  by  that  young  man,  who  was  at  most  twenty- 
seven  when  they  first  appeared  in  print.  It  was  evidently  the 
authorship  of  a  person  who  had  long  been  in  disgrace  at  Court, 
(or  with  Astrsea,  as  he  calls  Elizabeth,)  for  he  says,  — 
"  My  night  hath  lasted  Jifteene  yeares, 

And  yet  no  glimpse  of  day  appeares." 

How  could  young  Francis  Davison  have  been  fifteen  years  out  of 
favor  with  the  Queen  ?  or  how  could  he  proceed  to  lament,  — 
"But  I  that  late 

With  upright  gate 
Bare  up  my  head  while  happy  favour  lasted, 

Now  old  am  growne, 

Now  overthrowne, 

With  woe,  with  griefe,  with  wailing  now  am  wasted." 
The  whole  is  a  personal  production,  referring  to  the  previous 
advancement  and  subsequent  sudden  fall  of  the  speaker  ;  and  our 
solution  of  the  difficulty  is,  that  the  Eclogue  was  the  production, 
not  of  Francis  Davison,  but  of  his  father  William  Davison  ;  but 
the  MS.  being  in  the  handwriting  of  the  former,  the  printer  (to 
whom  such  matters  were  avowedly  left)  erroneously  placed  the 
initials  F.  D.  at  the  end  of  it.1  In  1602,  when  this  Eclogue  first 
i  The  speculation  that  William  Davison,  and  not  his  son  Francis,  was 
the  author  of  the  first  Eclogue  in  the  "  Poetical  Rhapsody  "  will  not  ap 
pear  so  unlikely,  when  it  is  mentioned  that  William  Davison  was  poet- 


232  Bibliographical  Account  of 

appeared,  it  was  exactly  "  fifteen  years  "  since  the  death  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots,  for  hastening  whose  execution  (though  with  the 
good  will  of  Elizabeth)  William  Davison  had  incurred  the  well 
affected  displeasure  of  the  Queen.  Whether  our  speculation  be 
or  be  not  adopted,  it  is  quite  certain  that  Sir  H.  Nicolas  had  no 
warrant  for  here  extending  the  initials  F.  D.  into  "  Francis  Davi 
son."  Another  explanation  may  be,  that  F.  D.  ought  to  be  E.  D. ; 
and  that  Sir  Edward  Dyer,  who  complains  that  he  had  been  long 
excluded  from  Court,  was  the  author  of  the  first  Eclogue.  How 
carelessly  the  printer  (W.  Stansby)  performed  his  duty  in  other 
respects  might  be  illustrated  in  many  places,  but  we  will  take  an 
instance  from  this  very  production,  subscribed  F.  D.,  where  the 
following  couplet  occurs  :  — 

"  My  nightly  rest[s]  have  turn'd  to  detriment, 
To  plaints  have  turu'd  my  wonted  merriment." 

Here  "  detriment "  and  "  merriment "  do  not  rhyme ;  but  as  dreri- 
ment  was  then  a  comparatively  new  word,  (employed  first  by  Spen 
ser,)  the  printer  did  not  know  it,  and  composed  "  detriment "  in 
stead  of  it.  In  the  second  Eclogue  he  was  guilty  of  a  blunder  of 
a  different  kind,  omitting  to  mark  the  speech  of  "  the  Herdman," 
and  thereby  giving  the  conclusion  of  the  Dialogue  to  u  the  Shep 
herd."  This  error  also  was  never  set  right  in  ancient  or  modern 
editions. 

Some  of  the  best  pieces  in  the    Collection,  especially  "  an 

ically  inclined,  and  that  he  has  left  behind  him  some  specimens  of  verse. 
These  are  contained  in  Harl.  MS.  290;  and  one  of  them  is  the  following, 
by  no  means  contemptible,  epigram :  — 

"  Virtue  and  learning  were,  in  former  time, 
Sure  ladders  by  the  which  a  man  might  clime 
To  honor's  seate ;  but  now  they  will  not  hold, 
Unless  the  mounting  steps  be  made  of  gold." 

The  theme  of  another  piece  is  Semper  eris  pauper.  It  is  not  at  all  un 
natural  to  imagine  that  during  his  long  confinement  in  the  Tower,  or  while 
he  was  resident  in  disgrace  at  Stepney  (where  he  was  buried  24th  Dec. 
1608),  he  amused  himself  by  poetical  composition,  a  talent  inherited  by 
his  son;  who  nevertheless  may  possibly  have  written  the  Eclogue  in 
question  in  the  person  of  his  father.  We  are  of  opinion,  however,  as  ex 
pressed  in  our  text,  that  the  piece  was  by  the  father,  and  that  the  initials 
of  the  son  were  erroneously  appended  to  it. 


u  (Engltslj  Citcrature.  233 

Eglogue  made  long  since  upon  the  death  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney," 
are  subscribed  A.  W.,  initials  which  nobody  has  yet  been  able  to 
appropriate  at  all  satisfactorily.  Ritson's  notion,  that  they  were 
by  Arthur  Warren,  shows  that  he  was  no  good  judge^of  poetry. 
Warren,  from  what  he  has  left  behind  him,  was  wholly  incapable 
of  them.  We  do  not  recollect  that  the  following  has  been  quoted 
in  reference  to  Spenser,  but  no  one  else  can  be  meant  by  Collin, 
and  personally  the  passage  is  very  interesting  :  — 

"Perin. 

"  Who  else  but  Thenot  can  the  Muses  raise, 
And  teach  them  sing  and  dance  in  mournfull  guise  ? 
My  finger's  stiffe,  my  voice  doth  hoarsely  rise. 

"Thenot. 

"  Ah !  where  is  Collin  and  his  passing  skill? 
For  him  it  fits  our  sorrow  to  fulfill. 

"Perin. 

"  Tway  sore  extreames  our  Collin  presse  so  neere 
(Alas,  that  such  extremes  should  presse  him  so!) 
The  want  of  wealth,  and  losse  of  loue  so  deere; 
Scarse  can  he  breath  from  under  heapes  of  woe: 
He  that  beares  heauen  beares  no  such  weight,  I  trow. 

"  Thenot. 

"  Hath  he  such  skill  in  making  all  aboue, 
And  hath  no  skill  to  get  or  Wealth  or  Loue  ? 

"  Perin. 

"  Praise  is  the  greatest  prise  that  Poets  gaine, 
A  simple  gaine  that  feeds  them  ne're  a  whit. 
The  wanton  lasse  for  whom  he  bare  such  paine, 
Like  running  water,  loues  to  change  and  flit. 
But  if  thou  list  to  heare  a  sorry  fit, 

Which  Cuddy  could  in  doleful  verse  endite, 
Blow  thou  thy  pipe,  while  I  the  same  recite." 

It  was  just  about  the  date  of  Sidney's  death  that  Spenser,  here 
named  Collin,  having  obtained  his  grant  of  land  in  Cork,  had  gone 
to  take  possession  of  it.  ("Life  of  Spenser,"  1862,  p.  Hi.)  The 
"  wanton  lass,"  who  was  as  changeable  as  water,  must  have  been 


234  Bibltograptjkal  ^laoitnt  of 

his  poetical  mistress  Rosalind.    Farther  on,  in  relation  to  the  death 
of  Sidney,  as  the  friend  and  patron  of  Spenser,  A.  W.  says  :  — 
"  Ah !  Collin,  I  lament  thy  case : 
For  thee  remaines  no  hope  of  grace. 
The  best  reliefs 
Of  Poet's  griefe 

Is  dead,  and  wrapt  full  cold  in  filthy  clay; 
And  nought  remaines 
To  ease  our  paines, 
But  hope  of  death  to  rid  us  hence  away." 

We  have  briefly  touched  upon  these  points  because,  we  appre 
hend,  they  are  new,  and  have  not  been  noticed  in  the  various 
editions  of  the  "  Poetical  Rhapsody." 


DAVYS,  SIR  JOHN.  —  Orchestra,  or  a  Poeme  of  Dauncing. 
Judicially  prooving  the  true  observation  of  tune  and 
measure,  in  the  Authenticall  and  laudable  use  of  Daun 
cing.  Ovid.  Art.  Aman.  lib.  i. 

Si  vox  est,  canta :  si  mollia  brachia,  salta ; 
Et  quacunque,  potes  dote  placere,  place. 

At  London,  Printed  by  J.  Robarts  for  N.  Ling.     1596. 
18mo.     24  leaves. 

In  the  "  General  Biographical  Dictionary "  by  A.  Chalmers, 
under  "  Davies,"  we  are  told  that  the  first  edition  of  Sir  John 
Davys's  Poem  called  "  Orchestra,"  originally  published  in  1596, 
**  has  escaped  the  researches  of  modern  collectors,  and  the  poem, 
as  we  now  find  it,  is  imperfect.  Whether  it  was,  or  was  not  so  in 
the  first  edition  may  be  doubted."  This  in  our  hands  is  the  first 
edition,  and  the  poem  is  in  all  respects  complete. 

The  title  is  followed  by  a  dedicatory  sonnet,  "  To  his  very 
Friend,  Ma.  Rich.  Martin."  The  circumstance  is  singular,  recol 
lecting  that  this  Richard  Martin  was  the  very  person  whom,  ac 
cording  to  his  biographers,  Sir  John  Davys  beat  in  the  Middle 
Temple  Hall,  which  occasioned  his  expulsion  from  the  society  in 
February,  1597-98.  In  Polymanteia,  which  was  printed  in  1595, 


(Earlg  (fnglisl)  Citrrature.  235 

it  is  stated  that  Davys  was  of  Lincoln's  Inn  :  why  he  changed  to 
the  Middle  Temple  does  not  appear,  nor  to  what  Inn  of  Court, 
if  any,  he  went  after  having  been  expelled  from  the  Middle 
Temple.  The  quarrel  with  Martin  (afterwards  Recorder  of  Lon 
don)  was  of  course  subsequent  to  the  Sonnet,  which  is  written  in 
extravagant  terms  of  friendship  and  admiration.  As  it  has  never 
been  reprinted,  it  deserves  on  all  accounts  to  be  quoted  : 

"  To  Ms  very  Friend,  Ma.  Rich.  Martin. 
"  To  whom  shall  I  this  dauncing  Poeme  send, 
This  suddaine,  rash,  halfe-capreol  of  my  wit? 
To  you,  first  mover  and  sole  cause  of  it, 
Mine-owne-selves  better  halfe,  my  deerest  frend. 
0,  would  you  yet  my  Muse  some  Honny  lend 
From  your  mellifluous  tongut,  whereon  doth  sit 
Suada  in  Majestic,  that  I  may  fit 
These  harsh  beginnings  with  a  sweeter  end. 

You  know  the  modest  Sunne  full  fifteene  times 
Blushing  did  rise,  and  blushing  did  descend, 
While  I  in  making  of  these  ill  made  rimes, 
Mv  golden  howers  unthriftily  did  spend: 

Yet,  if  in  friendship  you  these  numbers  prayse, 
I  will  mispend  another  fifteene  dayes." 

When  Sir  John  Davys  republished  "  Orchestra  "  with  his  other 
pieces  in  1622,  he  substituted  for  the  above  a  sonnet  addressed  to 
Prince  Charles  ;  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  poem  he  left  a  hiatus 
after  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-sixth  stanza,  perhaps  on  account 
of  his  quarrel  with  Martin.  In  the  edition  of  1596,  as  has  already 
been  remarked,  the  production  is  complete,  but  some  portions  of 
the  last  five  stanzas  are  at  this  distance  of  time  obscure.  Sir 
John  Davys,  however,  pays  tribute  in  them  to  his  predecessors  in 
English  poetry,  Chaucer,  Spenser,  Daniel,  Chapman,  Drayton, 
Sir  Philip  Sidney,  &c.  These  terminating  stanzas  are  num 
bered  respectively  from  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  to  one 
hundred  and  thirty-one  inclusive,  and  run  thus :  — 
"Away,  Terpsechore,  light  Muse,  away, 

And  come  Uranie,  prophetesse  divine: 
Come,  Muse  of  heav'n,  my  burning  thirst  allay, 
Even  now  for  want  of  sacred  drink  I  tine. 
In  heav'nly  moysture  dip  thys  Pen  of  mine, 
And  let  my  mouth  with  Nectar  overflow, 
For  I  must  more  then  mortall  glory  show. 


236  Bibliographical  2Uanmt  of 

"  0,  that  I  had  Homer's  aboundant  vaine, 

I  would  hereof  another  llias  make ; 
Or  els  the  man  of  Mantua's  charmed  braine, 

In  whose  large  throat  great  Jove  the  thunder  spake. 

O,  that  I  could  old  Gefferies  Muse  awake, 
Or  borrow  Colin's  fayre  heroike  stile, 
Or  smooth  my  rimes  with  Delia's  servants  file. 

"  0,  could  I,  sweet  Companion,  sing  like  you, 
Which  of  a  shadow  under  a  shadow  sing; 
Or,  like  faire  Salue's  sad  lover  true, 

Or  like  the  Bay,  the  Marigold's  darling, 
Whose  suddaine  verse  Love  covers  with  his  wing. 
0,  that  your  braines  were  mingled  all  with  mine, 
T'  inlarge  my  wit  for  this  great  worke  divine. 

"  Yet,  Astrophell  might  one  for  all  suffize, 

Whose  supple  Muse  Camelion-like  doth  change 

Into  all  formes  of  excellent  devise. 

So  might  the  Swallow,  whose  swift  Muse  doth  range 
Through  rare  Jdceas,  and  inventions  strange, 

And  ever  doth  enjoy  her  joy  full  spring, 

And  sweeter  then  the  Nightingale  doth  sing. 

"  0,  that  I  might  that  singing  Swallow  heare, 

To  whom  I  owe  my  service  and  my  love, 
His  sugred  tunes  would  so  enchant  mine  eare, 

And  in  my  mind  such  sacred  fury  move, 

As  I  should  knock  at  heav'ns  gate  above, 
With  my  proude  rimes,  while  of  this  heav'nly  state 
I  doe  aspire  the  shadow  to  relate." 

This  is  followed  by  the  word  "  Finis "  ;  but  yet  the  poet  seems 
rather  to  have  been  about  to  begin  a  new  subject  than  to  finish 
an  old  one.  It  is  now  perhaps  impossible  to  explain  who  is  in 
tended  by  "  Salue's  sad  lover  true,"  or  who  is  figured  under  "  the 
Bay,  the  Marigold's  darling."  «  The  Swallow  "  is  probably  Mar 
tin,  the  friend  to  whom  the  poem  is  inscribed,  and  who  seems  to 
have  been  himself  a  verse-maker.  Excepting  this  interesting  con 
clusion,  the  rest  of  the  poem  was  exactly  reprinted  in  1622.  Sir 
John  Davys  was,  perhaps,  an  expert  dancer  earlier  in  life ;  but,  in 
1603,  he  had  grown  very  corpulent,  as  appears  by  Manningham's 
Diary  among  the  Harleian  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum.  (Vide 
"  History  of  English  Dramatic  Poetry  and  the  Stage,"  Vol.  I.  p. 


<£arlt)  (Sngltstj  iCiterature.  237 

320.)     Sir  J.  Harington,  in  Epigram  67  of  Book  II.,  bears  testi 
mony  to  the  same  fact. 

It  is  stated  correctly  by  the  biographers  of  John  Davys  that  he 
was  patronized  by  Lord  Ellesmere,  and  among  the  papers  of  his 
lordship  is  preserved  the  following  autograph  Sonnet,  which  ap 
pears  to  have  been  addressed  to  the  Lord  Chancellor,  on  the  death 
of  his  second  wife  in  the  year  1599  :  — 

"You,  that  in  Judgment  passion  never  show, 

(As  still  a  Judge  should  without  passion  bee), 
So  judge  your  self;  and  make  not  in  your  woe 

Against  your  self  a  passionate  decree. 
Griefe  may  become  so  weake  a  spirit  as  mine: 
My  prop  is  fallne,  and  quenched  is  my  light; 
But  th'  Elme  may  stand,  when  with'red  is  the  vine, 

And,  though  the  Moone  eclipse,  the  Sunne  is  bright. 
Yet  were  I  senselesse  if  I  wisht  your  mind, 

Insensible,  that  nothing  might  it  move; 
As  if  a  man  might  not  bee  wise  and  kind. 

Doubtlesse  the  God  of  Wisdome  and  of  Love, 
As  Solomon's  braine  he  doth  to  you  impart, 
So  hath  he  given  you  David's  tender  hart. 

Yr  LPS  in  all  humble  Duties 
and  condoling  with  yr  LP  most  affectionately 

Jo.  Davys." 

The  following  note  is  appended,  also  in  the  handwriting  of  Sir 
John  Davys  :  —  "A  French  writer,  (whom  I  love  well),  speakes 
of  3  kindes  of  Companions,  Men,  Women,  and  Bookes :  the  losse 
of  this  second  makes  you  retire  from  the  first :  I  have,  therefore, 
presum'd  to  send  yr  LP  one  of  the  third  kind  wch  (it  may  bee),  is 
a  straunger  to  your  LP,  yet  I  persuade  me  his  conversation  will  not 
be  disagreeable  to  yr  LP." 


DAVYS,  SIR  JOHN.  —  Nosce  teipsum.  This  Oracle  ex 
pounded  in  two  Elegies.  1.  Of  Humane  Knowledge. 
2.  Of  the  Soule  of  Man,  and  the  immortalitie  thereof. 
—  London  Printed  by  Richard  Field  for  John  Standish. 
1599.  4to.  43  leaves. 


238  Btbliograpljtcal  2Uamnt  of 

This  is  the  first  edition  of  a  very  celebrated  poem,  which  is  said 
to  have  gained  the  author  the  favor  of  James  I.,  even  before  he 
came  to  the  crown.  It  is  addressed  in  verse  to  Queen  Eliza 
beth,  and  subscribed  "  John  Davies,"  but  the  name  of  the  author 
did  not  appear  upon  the  title-page  until  it  was  printed  for  the 
third  time  in  1608.  In  the  address  to  the  Queen,  Sir  John  Davys 
terms  her 

"  Loadstone  to  Hearts,  and  Loadstarre  to  all  eyes; " 

a  line  not  unfrequently  quoted  and  imitated.  A  great  deal  has 
been  said  by  bibliographers  respecting  the  date  of  the  address  to 
the  Queen.  In  the  copy  before  us  it  has  no  date. 


DAVYS,  SIR  JOHN.  —  Nosce  teipsum,  &c.     Written  by  Sir 

John  Davis  his  Majesties  Atturney  generall  in  Ireland. 

—  London  Printed  by  Henry  Ballard  for  John  Standish. 

1608.     4to.     43  leaves. 

This  is  the  third  edition.  The  second  edition  appeared  in  1602. 
The  variations  between  them  are  merely  typographical. 

The  sudden  death  of  Sir  John  Davys  is  usually  said  to  have 
occurred  in  1626  ;  but  if  this  be  not  an  error,  what  is  to  be  said 
of  the  following  registration  in  the  book  of  St.  Mary  Alderman- 
bury  ?  — 

"  Buried  Sir  John  Davyes,  Knight.    May  28.  1624." 

We  copy  the  following  from  the  original  in  the  S.  P.  O.,  and  it 
deserves  preservation,  because  it  must  refer  to  the  presentation  by 
Sir  John  Davys  of  a  copy  of  his  Nosce  Teipsum,  1599,  through 
Michael  (afterwards  knighted)  Hicks. 

"  Mr.  Hicks.  I  have  sent  you  heer  inclosed  that  cobweb  of  my  in 
vention  which  I  promised  before  Christmas :  I  pray  you  present  it,  com 
mend  it,  and  grace  it,  as  well  for  your  owne  sake  as  mine ;  bycause  by 
your  nominacion  I  was  first  put  to  this  taske,  for  which  I  acknowledge 
my  self  beholding  to  you  in  good  earnest,  though  the  imployment  be  light 
and  trifling,  bycause  I  am  glad  of  any  occasion  of  being  made  knowne  to 
that  noble  gentl.  whom  I  honore  and  admire  exceedingly.  If  ought  be  to 
be  added,  or  alter' d,  lett  me  heare  from  you.  I  shall  willingly  attend  to 
doo  it,  the  more  speedily  if  it  be  before  the  terme.  So  in  hast  I  commend 
my  best  services  to  you.  Chancery  Lane  20  Jan.  1600. 

Yours  to  do  you  service  very  willingly, 
Jo.  Davys." 


(Earls  (Englislj  Cttmxtur*.  239 

DEE,  JOHN.  —  A  Letter,  containing  a  most  briefe  Discourse 
Apologeticall,  with  a  plaine  Demonstration,  and  fervent 
Protestation  for  the  lawfull,  sincere,  very  faithfull  and 
Christian  course  of  the  Philosophicall  studies  and  exer 
cises  of  a  certaine  studious  Gentleman :  An  ancient 
Servaunt  to  her  most  excellent  Majesty  Royall.  n.  d. 
4to.  12  leaves. 

This  "  certain  studious  gentleman  "  was  Dr.  John  Dee,  who  sub 
scribed  the  "  Peroratio  "  thus :  "  Very  speedily  written  this  twelfth 
even,  and  twelfth  day,  in  my  poore  Cottage  at  Mortlake :  Anno 
1595.  currente  a  Nativitate  Christi:  ast,  An.  1594.  Completo,  a 
Conceptione  ejusdem,  cum  novem  praeterea  mensibus,  Completis. 
Alwaies,  and  very  dutifully, 

at  your  Graces  commandement 

John  Dee." 

The  whole  is  addressed  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and 
we  learn  from  the  dedication  that,  on  the  9th  of  November,  1592, 
Dee  had  presented  a  supplication  to  the  Queen  at  Hampton. 
Then  follow  lists  of  his  works,  printed  and  unprinted,  an  "  Epi 
logue,"  and  a  copy  of  the  Latin  Testimonial  given  to  him  by  the 
University  of  Cambridge  in  the  year  1548.  The  date  in  the  colo 
phon  of  Peter  Short,  the  printer,  on  the  last  leaf,  is  1599. 

On  the  title-page  is  a  woodcut  of  Dee  on  his  knees,  a  sheep,  a 
wolf,  and  a  many-headed  human  monster.  Another  edition  of 
this  tract  was  printed  in  1604,  4to. 


DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  The  Seuen  deadly  Sinnes  of  Lon 
don  :  Drawne  in  seuen  seuerall  Coaches,  Through  seuen 
seuerall  Gates  of  the  Citie  Bringing  the  Plague  with 
them.  —  Opus  septem  Dierum.  Tho :  Dekker.  —  At  Lon 
don  Printed  by  E.  A.  for  Nathaniel  Butter,  and  are  to 
be  solde  at  his  shop  neere  Saint  Austens  gate.  1606. 
4to.  B.  L.  31  leaves. 

We  believe  that  the  only  scrap  of  biographical  information  re- 


240  Sibltograpljical  Account  of 

garding  Dekker,  to  be  met  with  in  his  works,  is  found  in  this  tract, 
on  sign.  A  3  b,  not  far  from  the  close  of  "  The  Induction  to  the 
Booke,"  where  he  says,  apostrophizing  London,  —  "  O,  thou  beaw- 
tifullest  daughter  of  the  two  vnited  Monarchies !  from  thy  womb 
received  I  my  being  ;  from  thy  brests  my  nourishment ;  yet  give 
me  leave  to  tell  thee  that  thou  hast  seven  Divels  within  thee,"  &c. 
We  learn  from  the  Registers  of  St.  Saviour's  Southwark  that  the 
person  who  probably  was  his  father  was  buried  there  in  1594; 
and  from  the  Registers  of  St.  Giles  Cripplegate,  (where  Hens- 
lowe's  and  Alleyn's  theatre,  the  Fortune,  for  which  Dekker  wrote, 
was  situated,)  that  Thomas  Dycker,  gent.,  had  a  daughter  Dorcas 
christened  there  on  27th  Oct.  1594,  and  that  Thomas  Decker, 
yeoman,  had  a  daughter  Anne  christened  there  on  24th  Oct.  1602. 
Neither  of  these  might  be  our  poet,  and  it  was  not  usual  to  desig 
nate  an  author  "  yeoman."  Thomas  Dekker  had  a  daughter  Eliza 
beth  buried  there  in  1598,  and  a  son  of  Thomas  Dekker  was  buried 
at  St.  Botolph's  Bishopgate  on  19th  April  in  the  same  year.  The 
widow  of  old  Thomas  Dekker,  who  died  in  1594,  was  living  in 
"Maid  Lane,"  Southwark,  near  the  Globe  theatre,  in  1596. 

Thomas  Dekker,  the  dramatist,  was  often,  if  not  always,  in  dif 
ficulties.1  We  have  no  reason  to  think  that  he  was,  like  Shak- 
speare,  Ben  Jonson,  and  others,  also  an  actor ;  and  the  first  we 
hear  of  him,  in  connection  with  theatres,  is  in  1597,  when  he  was 
a  writer  for  Henslowe's  company  :  in  1598  he  was  in  the  Counter, 
and  the  old  Manager  advanced  forty  shillings  to  discharge  him. 
In  the  same  year  he  was  arrested  for  money  due  to  the  association 
for  which  Shakspeare  wrote.  In  1602  he  and  Anthony  Monday 
acknowledged  a  debt  of  £5  to  Henslowe.  Dekker  seems  to  have 
lived  from  hand  to  mouth,  supplying  his  necessities  by  his  pen  in 
the  production  of  plays,  pamphlets,  and  poems  ;  but  in  1613  he  was 
in  prison  again,  and  perhaps  several  times  in  the  interval.  He  was 
in  the  King's  Bench  in  1616  ;  when  he  wrote  and  sent  to  Alleyne 
"  a  eulogium,"  as  he  called  it,  on  the  building  of  Dulwich  College, 

1  In  September,  1616,  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  King's  Bench,  and  from 
thence  wrote  a  supplicatory  letter  to  Edward  Alleyn,  Avhich  is  preserved  in 
Dulwich  College,  and  was  printed  in  the  Memoirs  of  Alleyn  (published 
by  the  Shakspeare  Society  in  1841),  p.  131. 


€cuit]  (Englislj  iiitcratitre.  241 

soliciting  at  the  same  time  pecuniary  aid.  We  hear  nothino-  of 
him  after  1638,  and  he  is  supposed  to  have  died  before  the  Civil 
Wars. 

The  tract  in  our  hands  was  one  of  those  which  he  produced  on 
the  spur  of  his  necessities,  and  he  makes  it  a  boast  on  the  title- 
page  that  it  only  cost  him  a  week's  work.  In  it  he  mentions  his 
"  Wonderful  Year,"  another  tract,  no  doubt  composed  with  about 
as  much  speed,  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  an  attractive  topic, 
"the  Plague,"  which  broke  out  in  1602,  and  which  cost  the  lives 
of  30,578  persons  in  London,  as  the  author  informs  us  in  a  note  in 
his  "  Seven  Deadly  Sins." 

Respecting  his  "  Wonderful  Year,"  1603,  we  have  some  curious 
information  in  the  Registers  of  the  Stationers'  Company  under  the 
date  of  5th  Dec.  Hence  it  appears  that  three  publishers,  Ling, 
Smithwicke,  and  Browne,  had  procured  it  to  be  printed  by  Tho. 
Creede,  and  then  published  it  without  any  entry  of  it  at  the  Hall. 
The  following  order  was  therefore  made  :  — 

"  Yt  is  ordered  that  they  shall  pay  x9  a  pece  for  their  fines  for  print 
ings  a  booke  called  the  Wonderfull  Yere  without  authoritie  or  entrance 
contrary  to  thordonances  for  pryntinge.  Also  that  they  shall  forbeare 
and  never  hereafter  entermeadle  to  printe  or  sell  the  same  booke  or  anie 
parte  thereof.  —  Also  that  they  shall  presently  bringe  into  the  Hall,  to  be 
used  according  to  thordanance  in  that  behalf,  so  many  of  the  said  bookes 
as  they,  or  any  to  their  use,  have  left  in  their  handes." 

A  note  is  added  that  the  imprisonment  of  Ling,  Smithwicke, 
and  Browne  was  "  respited  till  further  order."  It  is  not  known 
what  was  done  upon  this  order ;  but  Dekker's  tract, «'  The  Won 
derful  Year,"  is  very  rare,  and  perhaps  it  became  so  because  the 
copies  sent  in  by  the  three  booksellers  were  destroyed. 

"  The  Seven  Deadly  Sinnes  of  London  "  is  arranged,  in  some 
sort,  like  an  old  morality,  or  moral-play,  and  the  names  of  the  sup 
posed  allegorical  impersonations  are  inserted  at  the  end  of  the 
address  to  the  Reader,  viz. :  1.  Politike  Bankruptisme ;  2.  Lying  ; 
3.  Candle-light;  4.  Sloth;  5.  Apishnesse ;  6.  Shaving;  7.  Crueltie. 
In  conformity  with  the  practice  of  our  older  stage,  a  Devil  was 
also  made  one  of  the  supposed  actors  ;  and  the  whole  seven  sins 
of  London,  one  after  the  other,  make  their  several  entrances  in 
triumph,  the  appropriate  attendants  and  accompaniments  bein» 

VOL.   I.  16 


242  Btbltograpljical  Account  of 

metaphorically  and  satirically  described.  What  Dekker  calls  the 
"  deadly  sin  of  Candle-light "  has  a  "  nocturnal  triumph,"  that  is, 
he  enters  surrounded  by  torches  ;  and  here  it  is  that  we  meet  with 
the  passage  showing  that  in  the  time  of  Shakspeare  a  private 
theatre,  like  the  Blackfriars,  for  which  he  wrote  and  where  he 
acted,  had  windows,  and  was  not,  like  public  theatres,  lighted  by 
being  uncovered  at  the  top  and  open  to  the  weather.  The  Globe, 
on  the  Bankside,  was  a  theatre  of  this  latter  description.  Dekker's 
words  are,  "  all  the  Citty  looked  like  a  private  playhouse,  when 
the  windowes  are  clapt  downe,  as  if  some  nocturnal  or  dismall 
tragedy  were  presently  to  be  acted  before  all  the  tradesmen." 

The  author  goes  through  the  vices  prevailing  in  the  metropolis, 
not  without  some  tediousness,  and  in  the  course  of  his  descriptions 
introduces  various  temporary  allusions,  such  as  to  the  two  uncom 
monly  successful  plays,  Marlowe's  "  The  llich  Jew  of  Malta,"  and 
Kyd's  "  Spanish  Tragedy."  "  Robin  Goodfellow  "  is  also  spoken 
of;  and  the  prodigious  success  of  the  players  of  London  "at  the 
coimning  of  the  ten  Ambassadors  "  is  recorded.  Dekker  does  not 
put  his  friends,  the  actors,  in  very  good  company  where  he  speaks 
of  the  followers  of  Sloth  as  "Anglers,  Dumb  Ministers,  Players, 
Exchange-wenches,  Gamesters,  Whores  and  Fiddlers."  As  if  de 
termined  not  to  lose  any  credit,  or  perhaps  profit,  by  this  produc 
tion,  Dekker  not  only  placed  his  name  prominently  on  the  title- 
page,  but  he,  somewhat  unusually,  subscribed  it  at  the  end,  thus :  — 

"Dii  me  terrent,  et  Jupiter  hostis. 
FINIS. 

Tho.  Dekker." 

The  Jupiter  and  Dii  were,  perhaps,  at  this  time  a  bailiff  and 
his  followers,  in  search  of  the  author  for  the  non-payment  of  some 
debt. 


DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  The  Double  P  P.  A  Papist  in 
Armes.  Bearing  Ten  severall  Sheilds.  Encountred 
by  the  Protestant.  At  Ten  severall  Weapons.  A 
lesuite  marching  before  them.  Commits  fy  Eminus.  — 
London,  Imprinted  by  T.  C.  and  are  to  be  sold  by  John 
Hodgets  &c.  1606.  4to.  22  leaves. 


(£arln  (Engltslj  ^iterator*.  243 

This  tract  by  Dekker  (for  a  presentation  copy  of  it  with  his 
autograph  is  in  existence)  has  little  but  its  rarity  to  recommend  it : 
it  is  a  violent,  and,  as  far  as  we  can  now  understand  the  allusions, 
not  a  very  witty  attack  upon  the  Catholics,  provoked  by  the  Gun 
powder  Plot  of  the  year  preceding  its  publication.  It  is  of  the 
same  character,  though  not  so  amusing,  as  John  Rhodes's  "An- 
swere  to  a  Romish  Rime,"  1602,  who  was  also  the  writer  of  a  tract 
printed  in  1606,  called  UA  briefe  Summe  of  the  Treason  intended 
against  the  King  and  State,"  &c. 

After  a  dedication  in  verse,  so  constructed  as  to  represent  a 
column,  "  To  all  the  Nobility,  Clergy  and  Gentry  of  Great  Brit- 
taine,  true  Subjects  to  King  James,"  Dekker  commences  with 
the  following,  which  he  calls  "  A  Riddle  on  the  double  P  P." :  — 

"  Upon  the  double  P  P.  badder  fruits  grow, 
Than  on  al  letters  in  the  Christ-Crosse-Row: 
It  sets  (by  reason  of  the  Badge  it  weares) 
The  Christ-Crosse-Row  together  by  the  eares. 
The  reason  is,  this  haughtie  double  P  P 
Would  clyme  above  both  A.  B.  C.  and  D 
And  trample  on  the  necks  of  E.  F.  G. 
H.  I.  (Royall  K.)  L.  M.  N.  0.  and  Q, 
Threatning  the  fall  of  R.  S.  T.  and  U." 

"  The  Resolution. 

P  P  =»  Pa  Pa  =  the  Po  Pe. 

Christ-Crosse-Row  =  Christendome. 

A.  B.  C.  D.  E.  &c.,  the  States  of  the  land;  as  Archbishops,  Bishops, 
Councellors,  Dukes,  Earles,  &c. 
K.  the  King. 
Q.  the  Queene. 
R.  Religion. 
S.  State. 
T.  Truth. 
U.  You  all." 

This  (after  "  the  Picture  of  a  Jesuite,"  "A  Papist  in  Armes," 
and  some  other  matter  of  a  like  kind)  is  succeeded  on  sifm.  D 
iiii.  by  "  The  Single  P  :  A  Riddle  on  the  single  P.,"  in  the  same 
form,  but  of  course  of  a  character  directly  opposed  to  "the 
Double  P."  The  tract  concludes  upon  sign.  F  2,  with  "  The 
Papist  Encountered."  There  was  another  edition  of  it  in  the 
same  year,  with  some  immaterial  variations. 


244  Bibliographical  2Urotmt  of 

DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  A  Knights  Coniuring.  Done  in 
earnest:  Discouered  in  lest.  By  Thomas  Dekker. — 
London,  Printed  by  T.  C.  for  "William  Barley,  and  are 
to  be  solde  at  his  Shop  in  Gratious  streete,  1607.  4to. 
40  leaves. 

There  were  three  editions  of  this  tract,  the  first  under  the  title 
of  "  Newes  from  Hell,  brought  by  the  Divells  Carrier,"  1606,  and 
two  others  (with  the  date  of  1607,  and  without  a  date),  as  "  A 
Knights  Conjuring."  It  may  be  disputed,  perhaps,  whether  the 
last  was  a  reprint  or  only  a  reissue  ;  but  it  is  quite  certain  that 
there  are  very  material  differences  between  "  Newes  from  Hell," 
and  "  A  Knights  Conjuring."  The  first  contains  important 
passages  which  were  omitted  in  the  last,  and  the  last  has  some 
additions  not  in  the  first,  while  the  whole  (to  give  it,  perhaps,  the 
appearance  of  greater  novelty)  is  divided  into  nine  chapters. 

All  three  impressions  have  reference  to  an  extremely  popular 
publication,  about  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  older*,  by  Thomas 
Nash,  and  still  read  and  reprinted  when  Dekker  sat  down  to  write 
what  may  be  considered  a  sequel  to  it.  Nash's  tract  was  called 
"Pierce  Pennilesse  his  supplication  to  the  Devill,"4to,  1592  ;  and 
in  the  second  impression  of  it  the  author  held  out  a  sort  of  prom 
ise  to  write  a  continuation, but  he  died  before  1600,  without  keep 
ing  his  word.  About  six  years  after  his  death  an  anonymous 
author  produced  what  he  wished  to  be  considered  a  sequel  of  the 
subject :  he  called  it  "  The  Returne  of  the  Knight  of  the  Post  from 
Hell,  with  the  Devils  Answeare  to  the  Supplication  of  Pierce  Pen 
niless."  This  was  followed  immediately  by  Dekker's  "  Newes  from 
Hell,"  in  which  he  criticizes  the  production  of  his  rival,  "  The 
Returne  of  the  Knight  of  the  Post,"  and  describes  it  as  heavy  and 
puritanical.  Of  course,  Dekker  intended  his  own  work  to  be  the 
reverse,  but  he  was  not  altogether  successful. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  the  sale  of  "  A  Knights  Conjuring," 
after  the  anonymous  "  Returne  of  the  Knight  of  the  Post "  and 
Dekker's  own  "  Newes  from  Hell,"  was  not  rapid  in  1606  ;  and  in 
the  following  year  a  new  title-page  was  printed  to  it,  without  any 
date,  of  which  some  copies  have  reached  our  day.  One  of  those, 
with  the  date  of  the  year  1607,  is  the  subject  of  the  present 
article. 


(Engltslj  Citcratur*.  245 

The  dedication  to  Sir  Thomas  Glover,  and  the  address  "  To  the 
Reader,"  both  subscribed  "  Tho.  Dekker,"are  not  in  "  Newes  from 
Hell  "  ;  but  the  last  has  a  curious  paragraph  about  Nash  and 
Gabriel  Harvey,  which  was  subsequently  suppressed  —  in  all 
likelihood  because  it  revived  the  memory  of  a  literary  contest 
regarding  which  the  public  authorities  had  interfered,  and  had 
ordered  that  the  satirical  and  abusive  pamphlets  on  both  sides 
should  be  destroyed.  Dekker,  in  his  "  Newes  from  Hell,"  thus 
breaks  out  in  an  apostrophe  to  Nash,  who  had  been  his  private 
friend  :  — 

"  And  thou  into  whose  soule  (if  ever  there  were  a  Pithagorean  Metemp- 
suchosis)  the  raptures  of  that  fierce  and  unconfineable  Italian  spirit 
were  bounteously  and  boundlesly  infused ;  thou  sometime  Secretary  to 
Pierce  Pennylesse,  and  Master  of  his  Requests,  ingenious  and  ingenuous, 
fluent,  facetious  T.  Nash,  from  whose  abundant  pen  hony  flowed  to  thy 
friends,  and  mortall  Aconite  to  thy  enemies;  thou  that  madest  the  Doctor 
[Hervey]  a  flat  dunce,  and  beatst  him  at  his  two  sundry  tall  weapons, 
Poetrie  and  Oratorie ;  sharpest  Satyre,  luculent  Poet,  elegant  Orator,  get 
leave  for  thy  ghost  to  come  from  her  abiding,  and  to  dwell  with  me  a 
while,  till  she  hath  carows'd  to  me  in  his  owne  wonted  ful  measures  of 
wit,. that  my  plump  braynes  may  swell,  and  burst  into  bitter  invectives 
against  the  Lieftenant  of  Limbo,  if  he  cashiere  Pierce  Pennylesse  with 
dead  pay." 

Excepting  the  above,  the  most  interesting  part  of  Dekker's 
"  Knight's  Conjuring  "  is  the  conclusion,  which  relates  to  certain 
dead  poets,  whom  the  author  must  have  known  when  living,  (for 
he  descends  even  to  their  personal  appearance,)  whom  he  repre 
sents  enjoying  the  society  of  each  other  in  the  Elysian  Fields. 
He  first  speaks  of  Chaucer,  surrounded  "  by  all  the  makers  or 
poets  of  his  time  ";  and  then  he  introduces  Spenser,  Watson,  Kyd, 
Atchlow,  Marlowe,  Greene,  Peele,  Nash,  and  Chettle,  which  last 
had  only  just  arrived,  so  that  we  may  presume  he  was  only 
recently  dead. 

The  passage  regarding  Spenser  is  more  interesting  than  any 
other,  because  it  decisively  shows  what  has  been  doubted,  namely, 
that  he  never  wrote  more  of  his  "  Faerie  Queene  "  than  has  come 
down  to  us,  and  that  there  were  in  fact  no  six  books,  concluding 
the  great  subject,  which  were  said  to  have  been  either  lost  at  sea, 


246  Bibliographical  Account  of 

on  their  way  from  Ireland,  or  destroyed  by  the  carelessness  of  a 
servant.     Dekker's  words  regarding  Spenser  are :  — 

"  Grave  Spencer  was  no  sooner  entred  into  this  Chappell  of  Apollo,  but 
these  elder  Fathers  of  the  divine  Furie  gave  him  a  Lawrer  and  sung  his 
Welcome:  Chaucer  call'de  him  his  Sonne,  and  plac'de  him  at  his  right 
hand.  All  of  them  (at  a  signe  given  by  the  whole  Quire  of  the  Muses 
that  brought  him  thither)  closing  up  their  lippes  in  silence,  and  tuning  all 
their  eares  for  attention,  to  heare  him  sing  out  the  rest  of  his  Fayrie 
Queenes  praises." 

It  was  because  Spenser  had  never  written  "  the  rest  of  his 
Faerie  Queene  "  that  the  Muses  listened  to  hear  the  conclusion 
of  the  subject.  Had  "  the  rest "  ever  been  composed,  the  Muses 
must  have  known  it,  and  "  tuning  their  eares  "  for  attention  would 
have  been  needless.  (See  "  Life  of  Spenser,"  1862,  p.  cxliii.) 

In  his  "  Knights  Conjuring,"  Dekker  purposely  omitted  all  allu 
sion  to  the  anonymous  writer  of  "  The  Returne  of  the  Knight  of 
the  Post,"  whom  he  had  mentioned  with  no  great  respect  in  his 
"  Newes  from  Hell."  Why  he  thus  slighted  him  does  not  any 
where  appear  ;  and  as  "  The  Returne  of  the  Knight  of  the  Post 
from  Hell "  is  a  greater  rarity  than  even  Dekker's  work,  and  as  a 
copy  of  it  is  now  lying  before  us,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  note, 
that  the  author  claims  to  have  been  one  of  Nash's  intimate  friends, 
and  to  have  heard  from  him  what  he  had  intended  to  have  said 
and  done  in  a  second  part  of  "  Pierce  Penniless's  Supplication." 
Upon  that  plan  he  pretends  to  proceed,  but  his  work  is  not  only 
dull  and  dry,  but  affectedly  pious.  He  avails  himself  of  the  pop 
ular  topic  afforded  by  the  recent  discovery  of  the  Gunpowder 
Plot,  and  introduces  curious  particulars  regarding  some  of  the 
actors  in  that  conspiracy.  He  thus  speaks  of  John  Wright,  brother 
to  Christopher  Wright,  both  of  whom  were  implicated  :  — 

"  The  elder  of  these  was  infinitely  proud,  yet  not  so  proud  as  ungrate- 
full,  for  being  utterlye  without  any  certaine  meanes  more  then  the  revenue 
of  other  mens  purses,  yet  was  his  generall  ostentation  that  he  was  be 
holden  to  no  man.  His  vertue  was  a  good  oylie  tongue,  that  with  easie 
utterance  beguiled  many  weake  attentions,  and  a  formall  carriage,  which, 
contemning  others,  heapt  upon  himselfe  a  selfe  commendation:  his  usuall 
boast  was  that  he  scornd  felt  hats,  he  lovde  doublets  lined  with  taffata, 


(Englisl)  fiiterature.  247 

linnen  of  twenty  shillings  an  elle,  silk  stockings,  never  under  twenty 
angels  in  his  pocket,  and  his  horse  at  least  of  fortie  pound  reckoning." 

The  Knight  of  the  Post,  who  has  just  returned  from  the  infer 
nal  regions,  finds  Pierce  Penniless  walking  in  what  was  termed 
"  the  Intelligencers  Walk,"  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral ;  and  whoever 
was  the  writer  of  this  tract  (whom  Dekker,  in  his  "  Newes  from 
Hell,"  professes  not  to  know)  must  have  been  a  tolerable  com 
poser  of  verses ;  and  near  the  end  of  his  tract  he  introduces  two 
specimens,  which  are  far  from  contemptible,  particularly  the  sec 
ond,  where  he  speaks  of  a  person-  who 

"in  poverty  no  poore^esse  knowes, 
Nor  feeles  the  strange  diseases  otf  the  Wflfr-^ 


f^*     Y 
ew  who  and  what 

he  was,  though  he  might  not  like  to  acknowledge  him   as  an 
acquaintance. 


DEKKER  THOMAS,  AND  GEORGE  WILKINS. —  Jests  to 
make  you  Merie :  With  The  conjuring  up  of  Cock  Watt 
(the  walking  Spirit  of  Newgate)  to  tell  Tales.  Unto 
which  is  added,  the  miserie  of  a  Prison  and  a  Prisoner. 
And  a  Paradox  in  praise  of  Serjeants.  Written  by  T. 
D.  and  George  Wilkins.  —  Imprinted  at  London  by  N. 
O.  for  Nathaniell  Butter,  dwelling  neere  to  St.  Austins 
Gate,  at  the  signe  of  the  pide  Bull,  1607.  4to.  B.  L. 
31  leaves. 

The  fact  has  not  been  noticed,  but  it  is  nevertheless  certain, 
that  there  were  two  poets  of  the  name  of  George  Wilkins,  in  the 
latter  end  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  in  the  beginning  of  that 
of  James  I.  Which  of  them  was  the  author  of  the  admirable 
drama,  "  The  Miseries  of  enforced  Marriage,"  4to,  1607,  it  is  im 
possible  now  to  determine  ;  but  the  natural  conjecture  seems  to  be 
that  they  were  father  and  son.  The  father,  as  we  suppose  him,  died 
in  the  summer  of  1603,  as  is  apparent  from  the  ensuing  entry  in 
the  burial-book  of  the  parish  of  St.  Leonard  Shoreditch,  where 


248  Biblioigrapljkal  Account  of 

two  of  the  public  theatres  were  situated,  and  where  so  many 
dramatists  and  actors  resided. 

"  1603.  George  Wilkins,  the  Poet,  was  buried  the  same  day,  19  August. 
Halliwell  Street." 

Thus  we  see  that  he  lived  in  Holy  well  Street ;  and  as  the  plague 
was  at  that  date  raging  in  London,  we  may  perhaps  infer  that  his 
death  was  produced  by  it.  That  another  George  Wilkins,  an 
author,  if  not  a  poet,  survived  him,  we  have  evidence  in  the  work 
before  us,  and  in  the  additional  fact,  that  in  1608  he  put  forth 
"  The  painfull  Adventures  of  Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre,"  a  novel 
avowedly  founded  upon  Shakspeare's  drama  of  the  same  name, 
which  itself  came  from  the  press  in  1609.  A  copy  of  this  novel, 
wanting  the  dedication,  (which  alone  supplies  the  information  that 
it  was  by  George  Wilkins,)  is  in  the  British  Museum.  Another,  and 
a  complete,  copy  is  in  the  public  library  of  Zurich,  and  has  recently 
been  reprinted  in  Germany.  That  the  two  George  Wilkinses 
were  therefore  distinct  authors,  is  sufficiently  obvious.  It  was  the 
younger  one  who  contributed  to  "  Jests  to  make  you  Merry,"  and 
who  had  the  aid  of  so  popular  a  dramatic  poet  and  pamphleteer 
as  Thomas  Dekker.  We  may  be  disposed  to  believe  that  Wil 
kins  was  the  principal  author  and  compiler,  and  that  his  coadjutor 
was  called  in  mainly  for  the  sake  of  additional  attraction. 

An  address  "  To  the  Pteader  "  is  subscribed  "  T.  D.  and  G.  W.," 
and  in  two  pages  dwells  much  upon  the  difficulty  of  procuring  of 
publishers  who  would  buy  books  for  the  "  Paules  Churchyard  walk 
ers."  They  say, "  Go  to  one  and  offer  a  copy :  if  it  be  merrie,  the 
man  likes  no  light  stuffe :  if  it  be  sad,  it  will  not  sell.  Another  med 
dles  with  nothing  but  what  fits  the  time."  It  ends  thus  in  refer 
ence  to  satirists :  —  "  Of  those  sharp-toothed  dogs  you  shall  finde 
me  none.  I  hould  no  whip  in  my  hande,  but  a  soft  fether,  and 
there  drops  rather  water  then  gall  out  of  my  quill :  if  you  taste  it 
and  finde  it  pleasant,  I  am  glad :  if  not,  I  cannot  be  much  sorry." 
This  sentence  clearly  alludes  to  such  publications  as  Goddard's 
«  Mastiff- Whelp,"  1599,  and  to  Marston's  "  Scourge  of  Villanie," 
1598,  where  he  boasts  that  he  "holds  in  his  hand  Rhamnusia's 
whip."  This  address  is  in  the  first  person  throughout,  though  sub 
scribed  both  by  "  T.  D.  and  G.  W." 


Qrarhj  (Ernglislj  Citcratnrc.  249 

A  definition  of  "  what  a  jest  is,"  is  followed  by  sixty  specimens, 
wood,  bad,  and  indifferent,  some  of  them  by  no  means  coming  up 
to  the  standard  laid  down.  The  best  of  them,  not  so  much  as 
jokes,  but  as  the  means  of  conveying  information,  relate  to  plays, 
theatres,  and  actors.  Thus,  No.  16  mentions  Middleton's  com 
edy,  "  Blurt,  Master  Constable,"  which  had  been  printed  in  1602. 

"  A  Player  riding  with  his  fellowes  (in  a  yeare  of  Peregrination)  up  and 
downe  the  countries,  resolved  to  be  merry,  tho  they  got  little  money;  and 
being  to  passe  through  a  Towne,  hee  gets  a  good  way  before  the  rest,  cry 
ing  (with  his  drawne  Kapier  in  his  hand)  which  is  the  Constables  house? 
where  is  the  Constable?  The  dogs  of  the  parrish  at  the  noise  fell  to  bark 
ing,  the  threshers  came  running  out  with  their  flailes,  the  Clounes  with 
rakes  and  pitch-forks,  asking  what  the  matter  was?  [He]  cried  still, 
And  you  be  men  bring  me  to  the  Constable !  At  last  the  wise  gentleman 
appeared  in  his  likenesse :  Are  you  the  Constable  ?  saies  the  Player.  Yes, 
that  I  am  for  fault  of  a  better,  quoth  he.  Why  then  Blurt,  Maister  Con 
stable  !  saies  the  other,  and  clapping  spurres  to  his  horse  gallopd  away 
amaine,  some  of  the  companions  laughing,  others  rayling,  the  Constable 
swearing,  and  the  rest  of  the  players  that  came  behind  post  through  the 
thickest  of  them,  and  laughing  the  whole  Towne  to  scorne,  as  it  had  bin 
the  foole  in  a  Comedie ;  which  made  the  hob-naile  wearers  stampe  tenne 
times  worse  then  they  did  before." 

Here  the  jest  is  worth  nothing.  "  A  year  of  peregrination  "  was 
a  season  when  plays  were  forbidden  in  London  on  account  of  the 
plague.  There  is  humor,  however,  in  the  following,  No.  22  :  — 

"  A  paire  of  Players,  growing  into  an  emulous  contention  of  one  an- 
others  worth,  refusde  to  put  themselves  to  a  day  of  hearing  (as  any  Players 
would  have  done)  but  stood  onely  upon  their  good  parts.  Why,  saies  the 
one,  since  thou  wouldst  faine  be  taken  for  so  rare  a  peece,  report  before 
all  these  (for  they  had  a  small  audience  about  them,  you  must  note)  what 
excellent  parts  thou  hast  discharged.  Mary,  saies  the  other,  I  have  so 
naturally  playd  the  Puritane,  that  many  tooke  me  to  be  one.  True,  saies 
the  first  agen,  thou  playdst  the  Puritane  so  naturally  that  thou  couldst 
never  play  the  honest  man  afterwards;  but  I  (quoth  he)  have  playd  the 
Sophy.  The  Sophy!  replied  the  second:  what  a  murren  was  he?  What 
was  he?  saies  the  other:  why  he  was  a  Turke:  right,  quoth  his  adver- 
sarie,  get  to  play  as  many  Turkes  parts  as  thou  canst,  for  He  be  hangd 
if  ever  thou  playst  a  good  Christian." 

Most  of  the  mere  jokes  have  some  novelty  to  recommend  them, 
but  here  and  there  we  meet  with  an  anecdote  which  was  stale  even 


250  Btbliograpljtcal  Account  of 

in  1607.  The  following,  for  instance,  had  been  told  in  "  Table  Phi 
losophy,"  in  1576  and  1583,  and  found  a  place  also  in  S.  Row- 
lands's  "  Night  Raven,"  printed  in  1618  and  1620;  the  original  is 
Greek  :  — 

"  A  Company  of  theeves  brake  one  night  into  a  countrie  schoole-maisters 
house,  and  he  hearing  them  never  stirrd  out  of  his  bed  for  the  matter,  but 
cried  out  aloude,  You  mistake  your  marke,  my  maisters:  goe  to  the  next 
house ;  thats  a  rich  farmers.  I  wonder  you  will  loose  time  to  seeke  any 
thing  heere  by  night,  when  I  my  selfe  can  finde  nothing  by  day." 

At  the  close  of  the  Jests  we  read  Nihil  hie  nisi  seria  desunt,  and 
we  arrive  at  another  heading,  "  The  Discoveries  made  by  Cock 
Wat,  the  walking  Spirit  of  Newgate."  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
well-known  personage  of  the  time,  who,  in  different  prisons,  had 
become  well  acquainted  with  all  the  frauds  and  shifts  of  cozeners, 
cut-purses,  and  conveyancers,  and  made  revelations  for  the  benefit 
of  the  public.  This  information  is  very  commonplace,  and  such  as 
Dekker  had  already  inserted  in  several  of  his  popular  tracts.  A  third 
heading,  "  The  miserie  of  a  Prison  and  a  Prisoner,"  and  a  fourth, 
"A  Paradox  in  praise  of  Serjeants,"  present  little  or  nothing  worth 
extracting.  It  is  hardly  amusing,  even  as  a  picture  of  the  man 
ners  and  tricks  of  thieves  and  sharpers  in  the  lower  grades  of 
society.  We  have  it  all  in  a  more  agreeable  and  intelligible  form 
in  Dekker's  "  Belman  of  London,"  «'  Lanthorn  and  Candle-light," 
&c.,  which  came  out  not  long  afterwards,  and  much  of  which  was 
itself  drawn  from  earlier  sources.  (See  the  next  article.) 


DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  The  Belman  of  London.  Bringing 
to  light  the  most  notorious  villanies  that  are  now  prac 
tised  in  the  Kingdome.  Profitable  for  Gentlemen, 
Lawyers,  Merchants,  Citizens,  Farmers,  Masters  of 
Households,  and  all  sortes  of  servants  to  marke,  and 
delightfull  for  all  men  to  Reade.  Lege,  Perlege,  Relege. 
—  Printed  at  London  for  Nathaniel  Butter.  1608.  4to. 
B.  L.  34  leaves. 


€arln  (£ngltslj  Cittrature.  251 

Dekker's  name  is  not  found  to  this  tract,  but,  in  what  may  be 
considered  a  second  part  of  it,  "  Lanthorne  and  Candle-light," 
1609,  he  recognizes  u  The  Belman  of  London  "  as  his  production. 
Its  popularity  was  extraordinary,  for  it  was  printed  three  times  in 
the  first  year.  The  edition  under  consideration  is  the  earliest,  and 
has  on  the  title-page  a  woodcut  of  the  Belman,  with  bell,  lantern, 
and  halbert,  followed  by  his  dog.  On  the  title-page  of  u  Lan 
thorne  and  Candle-Light,"  in  the  next  year,  he  is  represented  in 
a  night-cap,  without  his  dog,  and  with  a  "  brown  bill "  on  his 
shoulder ;  and  it  is  singular  that,  ai'ter  the  lapse  of  more  than  two 
hundred  years,  the  very  woodcut  from  which  the  impression  was 
made  in  1609  should  have  been  preserved,  and  used  as  a  head-piece 
to  a  ballad  which  we  bought  in  St.  Giles's  in  1836. 

"  The  Belman  of  London  "  is  dedicated  anonymously  "  to  all 
those  that  either  by  office  are  sworne  to  punish,  or  in  their  owne 
love  to  vertue  wish  to  have  the  disorders  of  the  State  amended." 
The  greater  part  of  the  tract  is  borrowed  totidem  verbis  from  the 
"  Caveat  for  Common  Cursetors,"  (vide  HARMAN,  post,}  but  here 
and  there  curious  additions  are  made,  applicable  to  the  time ;  and 
the  following  affords  a  useful  note  to  Shakspeare's  "  King  Lear," 
which  came  out  in  the  year  when  "  The  Belman  of  London  "  was 
printed.  Dekker  is  speaking  of  "Abraham-men,"  who  pretended 
to  be  mad,  and  wandered  about  the  country  exactly  in  the  way 
Edgar,  in  his  disguised  wretchedness,  is  represented  to  do  :  — 

"  He  calls  himself  by  the  name  of  poore  Tom,  and  comming  neere  any 
body  cries  out  Poore  Tom  is  a-cold.  Of  these  Abraham-men  some  be  ex 
ceeding  merry,  and  doe  nothing  but  sing  songs  fashioned  out  of  their  own 
braines :  some  will  dance,  others  will  doe  nothing  but  either  laugh  or  weepe : 
others  are  dogged,  and  so  sullen  both  in  looke  and  speech,  that  spying  but 
a  small  companie  in  a  house  they  boldly  and  bluntly  enter,"  &c. 

When  Isaac  Reed  quoted  this  passage  in  a  note  to  "  Gammer 
Gurton's  Needle,"  (Dodsley's  Old  Plays,  II.  4,  edit,  1825,)  he  seems 
not  to  have  known  of  any  edition  of  "  The  Belman  of  London  " 
prior  to  that  of  1616.  The  fact  that  it  came  out  in  1608  renders 
the  above  passage  peculiarly  applicable  to  Shakspeare's  great 
tragedy. 

Samuel  Rowlands,  in  his  "  Martin  Mark-all  Beadle  of  Bride 
well,"  1610,  accuses  the  unknown  author  of  the  "  Belman  of  Lon- 


252  BtbUojrapljical  Account  of 

don  "  of  stealing  from  Harman's  book.  "  At  last  up  starts  an  old 
Cacodemicall  Academicke  with  his  fi-ize  bonnet,  and  gives  them 
al  to  know  that  this  invective  was  set  foorth,  made  and  printed 
above  fortie  yeeres  agoe,  and  being  then  called  a  Caveat  for  Cur- 
sitors  is  now  newly  printed  and  termed  the  Belrnan  of  London." 
This  exposure  roused  the  ire  of  Dekker  in  his  "  Lanthorne  and 
Candle-light,"  but  he  made  no  sufficient  reply. 

The  allusions  to  temporary  subjects  are  often  curious,  and  the 
illustrations  of  manners  very  entertaining. 


DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  The  Dead  Terme.  Or  Westmin 
sters  Complaint  for  long  Vacations  and  short  Termes. 
Written  in  manner  of  a  Dialogue  betweene  the  two 
Cityes  of  London  and  Westminster  &c.  By  T.  Dekker. 
—  London,  Printed  and  are  to  be  sold  by  John  Hodgets 
&c.  1608.  B.  L.  4to.  27  leaves. 

The  contents  are  at  the  back  of  the  title-page,  followed  by  a 
dedication  to  Sir  John  Harington,  referring  to  his  translation  of 
Ariosto,  first  printed  in  1591,  (again  in  1607  and  1634,)  and  pray 
ing  him  to  "  vouchsafe  to  view  the  labours  of  so  dull  a  pen."  It 
must  be  owned  that  this  is  one  of  Dekker's  least  humorous  and 
amusing  pieces.  We  have  first  "  Westminster's  speech  to  Lon 
don,"  then  "  London's  aunswere  to  Westminster,"  "  Paule's  Stee 
ple's  complaint,"  and  finally  "  by  what  names  London  from  time 
to  time  hath  bin  called,  and  how  it  came  to  bee  divided  into 
Wardes."  The  whole  is  prose,  and  very  much  derived  from 
Stow's  "  Survey"  and  the  old  chroniclers. 


DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  The  Guls  Horne-booke:  Stultorum 
plena  sunt  omnia.  Al  Savio  meza  parola  Basta.  By 
T.  Deckar.  — Imprinted  at  London  for  R.  S.  1609. 
B.  L.  4to.  23  leaves. 


l)  £itcrature.  253 

This  is  unquestionably  the  most  entertaining,  and,  exclusive  of 
his  plays,  perhaps  the  best  of  Dekker's  numerous  works  in  verse 
and  prose.  It  is  full  of  lively  descriptions  of  the  manners  of  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  James  I.,  including  accounts  of,  or  allu 
sions  to,  most  of  the  popular  and  fashionable  amusements.  In  an 
address  "  to  the  Reader,"  (which  follows  a  mock  dedication  "  To 
all  Gulls  in  generall,")  Dekker  admits  that  his  tract  "  hath  a  rel 
ish  of  Grobianisme,"  referring  to  Dedekind's  "  Grobianus  and  Gro- 
biana,"  which  had  been  versified  by  R.  F.  in  1605.  (Vide  SCHOOL 
OF  SLOVENRY,  post.}  Dekker  further  states  that  he  had  himself 
"  translated  many  bookes  of  that  into  English  verse,"  but  that  he 
had  abandoned  the  task,  and  "  not  greatly  liking  the  subject,  he 
had  altered  the  shape,  and  of  a  Dutchman  fashioned  a  mere 
Englishman."  In  this  way  he  accounts  for  the  "  relish  of  Gro 
bianisme,"  which  he  observes  will  be  especially  apparent  in  the 
beginning  of  his  "  Gull's  Horn-book."  Such  certainly  is  the 
fact. 

The  work  is  entirely  prose,  and  is  divided  into  eight  chapters, 
which  are  introduced  by  a  Proemium.  It  was  reprinted  at  Bris 
tol,  under  the  superintendence  of  Dr.Nott,in  1812,  and  it  is  often 
quoted  by  the  commentators  on  Shakspeare  and  on  our  elder  poets. 
Dr.  Nott  very  injudiciously  modernized  the  old  spelling,  and,  in 
more  important  respects,  was  not  faithful  to  the  old  text. 


DEKKER,  THOMAS.  — The  Ravens  Almanacke.  Foretell 
ing  of  a  Plague,  Famine  &  Civill  Warre.  That  shall 
happen  this  present  yeare  1609  &c.  With  certaine 
remedies,  rules  and  receipts  &c.  —  London  Printed  by 
E.  A.  for  Thomas  Archer  &c.  1609.  B.  L.  4to.  32 
leaves. 

A  mock-prediction  and  a  moral  warning,  drawn  up  with  con 
siderable  humor  and  force,  and  intermixed  with  comic  novels 
and  incidents.  The  dedication  is  "  To  the  Lyons  of  the  Wood, 
(the  young  Courtiers)  to  the  wilde  Buckes  of  the  Forrest,  (the 
Gallants  and  younger  Brothers)  to  the  Harts  of  the  field,  and  to 


254  Bibliograpljkal  Account  of 

the  whole  Country  that  are  brought  up  wisely,  yet  prove  Guls,  and 
are  borne  rich,  yet  dye  beggers,"  &c.  It  is  subscribed  T.  Deck 
ers,  which  was  probably  the  printer's,  certainly  not  the  author's, 
mode  of  spelling  his  name.  On  sign.  G  2  b.  there  is  a  good 
"  song  sung  by  an  olde  Woman  in  a  Medowe."  The  tract  con 
tains  several  passages  illustrative  particularly  of  the  dramatic 
amusements  of  the  time.  One  of  the  author's  objects  was  to 
ridicule  the  pretended  prophecies  of  the  almanac-makers. 

We  may  here  notice  an  imitation  of  this  tract,  published  in 
1618  by  Lawrence  Lisle,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Owles  Alma 
nack,"  with  a  woodcut  on  the  title-page  of  an  Owl  reading  in  his 
study.  The  tract  is  by  no  means  without  shrewdness  and  droll 
ery,  and,  although  not  by  Dekker,  has  a  good  deal  of  his  style, 
but  with  more  method  than  he  gave  himself  time  to  observe.  On 
p.  12  it  mentions  Marston's  Play  by  the  title  of  "the  Fawn," 
Breton's  "Pasquills  Mad-cap,"  Dekker's  "Bellman  of  London" 
and  "  Lanthorn  and  Candle-light,"  with  various  ephemeral  pro 
ductions  and  temporary  allusions,  among  others  to  "  Madame 
Vice,  or  Olde  Iniquity  in  the  Comedy."  On  the  last  page  (57) 
the  burning  of  the  Globe  theatre,  and  "  the  plucking  down  of  the 
Cockpit"  are  mentioned,  with  a  notice  of  Kempe's  great  achieve 
ment,  "  the  horrible  dance  to  Norwich,"  though  why  that  epithet 
is  applied  to  it  is  not  explained.  The  whole  is  introduced  by 
what  is  headed  "  The  Owles  Epistle  to  the  Raven,"  where  "  the 
Raven's  Almanacke  "  is  termed  "  a  hotch-potch  of  calculations." 
It  enumerates  many  of  the  signs  of  shops  in  Cheapside,  such  as 
"  the  Ram,  the  Bull,  the  Crab,  Capricorne,  &c.  only  the  young 
wench  (called  Virgo)  would  by  no  meanes  sit  in  any  shop  in  that 
streete,  because  so  many  Gallants  lye  over  the  stalls,  courting 
every  handsome  woman  there."  It  is  full  of  variety,  but  nobody 
thought  fit  to  own  it. 


DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  Lanthorn  and  Candle-light,  or  the 
Bell-Mans  second  Nights-walke.  In  which  he  brings  to 
light  a  Brood  of  more  strange  Villanies  then  ever  were 
till  this  yeare  discovered  &c.  The  second  edition,  newly 


(Earltj  <£nglisl)  £  iterator*.  255 

corrected   and   amended.  —  London    Printed  for  John 
Busby  &c.     1G09.     B.  L.     4to.     43  leaves. 

The  success  of  uThe  Bell-man  of  London,"  1608,  which  Dek- 
ker  published  anonymously,  induced  him  to  write  this  second 
part,  to  the  dedication  of  which  "  to  Maister  Francis  Mustian  of 
Feckham  "  he  puts  his  name,  while  he  also  admits  the  authorship  of 
the  first  part.  This  is  the  second  edition  of  "  Lanthorne  and  Can 
dle-light,"  but  it  came  out  originally  in  the  same  year.  From  an 
address  "  To  my  owne  Nation,"  it  is  evident  that  Samuel  Row- 
lands's  "  Martin  Mark-all  the  Beadle  of  Bridewell,"  though  dated 
1610,  had  been  published  before  "  Lanthorne  and  Candle-light." 
"  You  shall  know  him,"  says  Dekker,  speaking  of  a  rival  author 
whom  he  calls  "  a  Usurper,"  "  by  his  habiliments,  for  (by  the  furni 
ture  he  weares)  hee  will  bee  taken  for  a  Beadle  of  Bridewett" 
No  earlier  impression  than  1610  is,  however,  known  of  Rowlands's 
production. 

The  work  before  us  is  ushered  by  verses  subscribed  lo :  Da : 
M.  R.  and  E.  G.  On  sign.  F.  4.  is  a  remarkable  account  of  the 
modes  in  which  poor  pamphleteers  of  the  time  defrauded  the  rich 
out  of  money  for  pretended  dedications :  and  after  describing 
some  of  these  tricks,  Dekker  observes  :  "  Nay,  there  be  other 
Birdcatchers  that  use  stranger  Quaile  pipes :  you  shall  have 
fellowes,  four  or  five  in  a  contry,  that  buying  up  any  old  booke 
(especially  a  Sermon,  or  any  other  matter  of  Divinity)  that  lies 
for  wast  paper,  and  is  clean  forgotten,  add  a  new  printed  Epistle 
to  it,  and  with  an  alphabet  of  Letters  which  they  carry  about 
them,  being  able  to  print  any  man's  names  (for  a  Dedication)  on 
the  suddaine,  travaile  up  and  downe  most  shires  in  England,  and 
live  by  this  hawking." 

In  the  article  on  the  "  Buckler  against  Death,"  (p.  96,)  it  has 
been  seen  that  Thomas  Jordan  played  exactly  this  trick  with  that 
work.  With  his  own  productions  he  was  in  the  constant  habit  of 
using  "  an  alphabet  of  letters,  which  he  carried  about  with  him," 
in  order  to  dedicate  the  same  piece  to  as  many  separate  patrons 
as  would  give  him  money  for  inserting  their  names. 


256  Siblicgrapljical  2Uroitnt  of 

DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  O  per  se  O,  or  a  New  Cryer  of 
Lanthorne  and  Candle-light.  Being  an  Addition,  or 
Lengthening  of  the  Bell-mans  Second  Night-walke,  &c. 
—  Printed  at  London  for  John  Busbie  &c.  1612.  4to. 
B.  L.  54  leaves. 

This  tract  is  mainly  a  reprint  of  "  Lanthorn  and  Candle-light," 
1609,  with  a  repetition  of  the  same  woodcut  on  the  title-page; 
but  at  the  end  comes  a  new  division,  consisting  of  fourteen  leaves, 
called  "  O  per  se  O,"  not  in  the  former  impression.  The  origin 
of  this  title  is  stated  by  the  author  to  be  a  canting  song  of  the 
beggars ;  and  the  tract  concludes  with  another  song  in  similar 
language,  to  which,  "  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  reader,"  a  trans 
lation  is  annexed.  Previous  to  the  year  1648,  this  production 
went  through  no  fewer  than  nine  distinct  editions,  varying  only 
slightly  from  each  other. 


DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  A  Rod  for  Run-awayes.  Gods 
Tokens  of  his  feareful  Judgements,  sundry  wayes  pro 
nounced  upon  this  City  and  on  severall  persons  both 
flying  from  it  and  staying  in  it,  &c.  By  Tho.  D.  — 
Printed  at  London  for  lohn  Trundle  &c.  1625.  4to. 
16  leaves. 

This  tract  was  composed  by  Dekker,  who  signs  the  dedication, 
no  doubt  in  haste,  during  the  plague  of  1625,  in  order  to  take 
advantage  of  a  temporary  subject.  The  principal  purpose  is  to 
censure  those  who  fled  from  London  in  order  to  escape  infection. 
On  the  title-page  is  a  woodcut  of  London  from  the  fields,  where 
Death  is  driving  a  flock  of  citizens  before  him,  who  are  welcomed 
by  the  country  people  with  staves  and  pitchforks.  It  is  one  of 
the  scarcest,  but  certainly  one  of  the  least  interesting  of  this  volu 
minous  writer's  productions. 


(Engltslj  Citcratur*.  257 

DEKKER,  THOMAS.  —  The  Batchelers  Banquet,  or  a  Ban 
quet  for  Batchelers.  Wherein  is  prepared  sundry  dainty 
Dishes  to  furnish  their  Tables,  curiously  drest  and  seri 
ously  served  in.  Pleasantly  discoursing  the  Variable 
humours  of  Women,  their  quicknesse  of  Wits  and  un 
searchable  Deceits  &c.  —  London,  Printed  for  Robert 
Bird  &c.  1630.  B.  L.  4to.  39  leaves. 

This  tract  has  usually  been  attributed  to  Dekker,  and  from  in 
ternal  evidence  it  may  be  assigned  to  him,  though  it  does  not  bear 
his  name.  No  dedication  is  prefixed,  and  the  body  of  the  work 
commences  immediately  after  the  title-page.  It  professes  to  give 
the  "  humours,"  or  dispositions  of  women,  especially  of  married 
women,  as  a  warning  to  all  bachelors,  that  they  may  not  "  get 
into  Lobs  pound,"  by  which  the  author  means,  obtain  wives  who 
will  be  their  ruin  or  torment.  It  is  divided  into  fifteen  chapters, 
headed,  "  The  humour  of  a  young  wife  new  married,"  "  The 
humour  of  a  Woman  pranked  up  in  brave  apparel,"  &c.,  and 
contains  a  good  deal  of  various  description  and  narrative,  all  in 
prose,  and  all  to  the  advantage  of  husbands.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  amusing  and  best  compounded  of  Dekker's  tracts. 

The  first  edition,  or  at  least  the  earliest  known  copy,  is  dated 
1603,  and  the  last  1679,  but  how  often  it  was  reprinted  in  the 
interval  between  those  years  it  is  impossible  now  to  ascertain,  but 
it  must  have  been  extremely  popular,  and  often  thumbed  out  of 
existence. 


DEKKER,   THOMAS.  —  Warres,  Warres,  Warres.      Arma 
virumque  Oano. 

Into  the  Field  I  bring 

Souldiers  and  Battailes : 
Boeth  their  Fames  I  sing. 

Imprinted  at  London  for  J.  G.     1628.     12mo.     8  leaves. 

Only  a  single  copy  of  this  tract  appears  to  be  known  ;  but  the 
late  Mr.  Douce  had  a  fragment  of  it,  consisting  of  only  two  pages. 
VOL.  i.  17 


258  Stbltograpljicctl  Account  of 

Up  to  the  hour  of  his  death  he  did  not  know  to  what  publication 
they  belonged,  as  he  had  never  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  any 
perfect  exemplar,  with  the  name  of  the  author,  which  happily  is 
the  case  with  that  to  which  we  have  been  indebted. 

The  dedication  is  by  Tho.  Dekker  to  Hugh  Hammersley,  Lord 
Mayor,  and  to  the  two  Sheriffs  of  London  and  Middlesex  for  the 
year;  in  which  he  states  that,  as  City  Poet,  he  had  been  employed 
to  write  the  pageant  for  Hammersley's  Mayoralty,  and  he  seems 
to  have  been  riot  a  little  proud  of  it.  He  says,  "  What  I  offred  up 
then  was  a  Sacrifice  ex  officio.  Custome  tooke  my  Bond  for  the 
Performance  ;  and  on  the  day  of  the  Ceremony  I  hope  the  debt 
was  fully  discharged."  If  it  were  ever  printed,  it  has  not  survived ; 
but  that  for  the  next  year,  1629,  on  the  Mayoralty  of  "  the  Right 
Honorable  James  Campebell,"  by  Dekker,  is  extant,  the  only  per 
fect  copy  being  in  the  collection  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire.  A 
copy  wanting  two  leaves  at  the  end,  the  only  other  known,  the 
late  Duke  gave  to  the  editor,  who  had  been  the  means  of  procur 
ing,  at  his  Grace's  no  trifling  cost,  the  perfect  exemplar  for  him. 

After  four  lines  "  To  all  noble  Souldiers,"  "  Warres,  Warres, 
Warres  "  begins,  and  here  the  old  dramatic  poet  could  not  refrain 
from  deriving  a  figure  from  the  stage :  — 

"  Brave  Musicke !  harke !     The  ratling  Drum  beats  high, 
And  with  the  scolding  Fife  deaffens  the  skye." 

The  word  "  scolding,"  applied  to  the  fife,  is  not  as  descriptive 
as  Shakspeare's  epithets  "  wr/-necked  "  and  "  ear-piercing  " ; 
but  still  the  sound  has  some  resemblance  to  the  high  accents  of 
female  objurgation.  Dekker  then  speaks  of  the  trumpet,  and  the 
theatre :  — 

"  The  Brazen  Herald  in  a  shrill  tone  tells 
We  shall  have  Warres  (ring  out  for  joy  your  Bels) 
We  shall  have  Warres !  when  Kingdoms  are  at  odds, 
Pitch'd  Fields  those  Theaters  are,  at  which  the  Gods 
Look  downe  from  their  high  Galleries  of  Heaven, 
Where  Battailes  Tragedies  are,  to  which  are  given 
Plaudits  from  Cannons:  Buskind  Actors  tread 
Knee  deep  in  blood,  and  trample  on  the  dead. 
Death  the  grave  theame  of  which  is  writ  the  story; 
Keene  swords  the  pens  testing  (at  large)  the  glory 


<£nigli0I)  Cttcrature.  259 

Of  Generals,  Colonels,  Captaines  and  Commanders, 
With  common  fighting  men  (the  hardy  standers 
Against  all  hellish  horrors)  Souldiers  all, 
And  Fellowes  (in  that  name)  to  th'  General." 

Dekker  speaks  of  himself  as  an  old  man,  and  at  this  date  he 
had  been  for  more  than  thirty  years  a  popular  author  of  plays, 
poems,  and  pamphlets :  — 

"  For  my  heart  danceth  sprightly,  when  I  see 
(Old  as  I  am)  our  English  gallantry." 

The  Lord  Mayor,  Hammersley,  was  at  this  date,  as  Dekker 
tells  us,  "  sole  and  worthy  Colonel  of  a  brave  company  of  Gen 
tlemen  in  armes,"  and  all  the  earlier  portion  of  this  trifling  tract 
is  devoted  to  a  panegyric  upon  war.  The  writer  proceeds  after 
wards,  as  Poet  to  the  City,  to  praise  the  Aldermen  in  succession 
for  their  forwardness,  and  he  adds  at  the  end  a  very  labored,  if 
not  a  very  happy,  comparison  between  war  and  the  sun.  This  is 
followed  by  what  he  calls  "  Warre  his  Zodiacke,"in  twelve  short 
pieces  of  rather  ingenious  verse,  and  the  conclusion  consists  of 
some  vigorous,  and  doubtless  acceptable,  applause  of  the  twenty 
"  City  Lieutenants." 

Dekker  seems,  as  we  have  elsewhere  remarked,  always  to  have 
been  a  struggler,  and  to  have  generally  written  on  a  sort  of 
dinner-demanding  emergency.  Such  was,  no  doubt,  the  case 
here,  and  as  he  had  a  ready  pen,  the  composition  of  the  tract 
before  us  could  not  have  occupied  as  many  hours  as  it  takes 
minutes  to  read  it. 


DELONEY,  THOMAS.  — The  Garland  of  Good  Will.  Di 
vided  into  three  partes.  Containing  many  pleasant 
Songs  and  prety  Poems  to  sundrie  new  Notes.  With  a 
table  to  finde  the  names  of  the  Songs.  Written  by  T. 
D.  —  Imprinted  at  London  by  E.  A.  for  E.  White,  dwell 
ing  at  the  little  North  doore  of  Paules.  1604.  8vo. 
64  leaves. 
The  above  is  the  title-page  of  an  edition  of  this  favorite  work 


260  Btbliograpljual  Account  of 

twenty-seven  years  anterior  to  any  that  is  now  known.  Unluckily 
it  consists  of  only  the  first  sheet.  It  was  once  in  the  editor's  pos 
session  bound  up  with  a  copy  of  the  second  part  of  the  same  author's 
"  Gentle  Craft,"  of  the  date  of  1598,  (perhaps  the  earliest  im 
pression  of  that  novel,)  which  he  lent,  thirty  years  ago,  to  a  poor 
printer  of  the  name  of  Connell,  that  he  might  reproduce  it,  but 
the  original  could  never  be  recovered  by  its  owner.  The  borrower 
is  now  dead,  and  the  loan  is  mentioned  for  the  purpose  of  iden 
tification,  should  the  pieces  have  found  their  way  into  other  hands. 
The  oldest  edition  of  Deloney's  "  Garland  of  Good  Will,"  hitherto 
mentioned,  is  that  of  1631,  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  and  that 
wants  sheet  G.  Our  first  sheet  of  the  copy  of  1604,  agreed  (ex 
cepting  in  small  variations  in  the  title-page,  and  two  or  three  words, 
to  be  specified  presently)  very  exactly  with  the  edition  of  1631, 
which  was  "  Imprinted  at  London  for  Robert  Bird  at  the  Bible  in 
Saint  Lawrence  Lane."  * 

Having  luckily  transcribed  the  ballad,  entitled,  in  the  edition  of 
1604,  "  A  mowrnfull  Dittitfof  faire  Rosamond,  King  Henry  the 
seconds  Concubine,"  before  we  lent  the  fragment ;  and  having 
before  us,  besides  the  version  in  "  Strange  Histories,"  1607,  the 
impressions  of  1662,  1678,  and  one  without  date,  together  with 
an  exact  collation  of  the  copy  at  Oxford,  we  are  able  to  point 
out  some  discrepancies  in  the  text  at  different  dates,  which  may 
be  interesting  to  book-antiquaries,  and  to  students  of  our  early 
popular  literature. 

1  Deloney's  "  Garland  of  Good  Will "  was  in  being  when  T.  Nash  wrote 
as  follows  in  his  "Have  with  you"  &c.  1596:  — "  Thomas  Deloney,  the 
balleting  silke-weaver,  hath  rime  enough  for  all  Myracles,  and  wit  to 
make  a  Garland  of  Good  Will  more  than  the  premisses,  with  an  Epistle  of 
Momus  and  Zoilus:  whereas  his  Muse,  from  the  first  peeping  forth,  hath 
stood  at  livery  at  an  ale-house  whispe,  never  exceeding  a  penny  a  quart, 
day  nor  night;  and  this  deare  yeare,  together  with  the  silencing  of  his 
looms,  scarce  that,  he  being  constrained  to  betake  him  to  carded  ale." 
From  hence  Nash  proceeds  to  assert  that  since  a  particular  date  Deloney 
had  only  published  his  "jig"  of  "John  for  the  King,"  and  ballads  with 
the  titles  of  "The  Thunderbolt  against  Swearers" — "Repent  England 
repent,"  and  "  The  straunge  Judgements  of  God."  If  these  titles  were 
not  invented  by  Nash,  none  of  the  ballads  have  come  down  to  us.  By 
"  carded  ale  "  Nash  seems  to  mean  to  pun  upon  corded  ale,  or  ale  obtained 
by  ballads  written  upon  hempen  executions. 


lj  £ttcratitr*.  261 

For  "  A  fair  and  princely  dame  "  of  all  other  old  copies,  the 
edition  of  1604  alone  reads  " peerlesse  dame,"  and  in  the  next  line 
matchlesse  for  "  peerless." 

In  the  line,  "  Was  known  a  mortal  foe,"  of  the  editions  of  1662 
and  1678,  in  the  copies  of  1604  and  1631,  the  word  is  u  cruell 
foe  "  :  it  is  also  cruell  in  "  Strange  Histories,"  1607. 

In  the  line,  "  Unto  a  worthy  knight,"  of  the  copies  of  1662, 
1678,  and  n.  d.,  the  epithet  is  valiant  in  the  editions  of  1604  and 
1631,  as  well  as  in  "  Strange  Histories,"  1607. 

Farther  on, "  For  why,"  (i.  e.  wherefore  or  because,  and  not  an 
interrogation,)  of  the  copies  of  1604,  1607,  1662,  1678,  and  n.  d., 
is  "  For  while  "  in  the  edition  of  1631  only. 

For  "  I  must  leave  my  fairest  flower,"  of  the  editions  of  1604, 
1607,  and  1631,  the  copies  of  1662,  1678,  and  n.  d.  have  "famous 
flower." 

In  the  next  stanza,  Rosamond  is  called  "  the  lady  bright,"  in 
the  three  earlier  copies,  and  "  the  \a.dyfair"  in  the  three  later 
ones. 

Again,  for  the  lines,  as  they  stand  in  1604,  1607,  and  1631, 

"Full  oft  betweene  his  princely  armes 
Her  corpes  he  did  embrace," 

we  have,  in  all  the  copies  in  and  after  1662,  these  words, 

"  Full  oft  within  his  princely  armes 
Her  body  he  did  embrace." 

In  the  next  line  but  two,  "  Untill  she  had  receiv'd  againe,"  as 
we  find  it  in  1604  and  1607,  we  read  in  all  other  impressions, 
"  Untill  he  had  reviv'd  againe." 

It  would  be  tedious  to  carry  this  minute  dissection  farther,  and 
we  will  only  state  generally,  that  in  subsequent  parts  of  the  same 
ballad  "  annoy  "  of  the  older  impressions  is  altered  to  offend  in 
the  more  modern  —  "  gallant "  is  altered  to  royal  —  "  inward  "  is 
altered  to  very  —  "  came  "  is  altered  to  went  —  "  lovely  cheekes  " 
is  altered  to  comely  face  ;  and  (without  adverting  to  many  other 
variations)  at  the  close  of  the  ballad,  the  burial-place  of  Rosa 
mond  is  changed  from  "  Godstow,"  as  it  is  given  in  1604,  1607, 
and  1631,  to  "  Wood-stock?  as  it  stands  in  1662,  1678,  and  in  the 
undated  impression.  _ 


262  Bibltograpljkal  ^tccoitnt  of 

Were  we  to  pursue  this  investigation  through  the  small  volume 
under  review,  we  should,  no  doubt,  meet  with  many  other  dis 
cordances  of  text.  This  course,  however,  would  scarcely  be  de 
sirable,  even  if  we  had  been  able  to  consult  perfect  exemplars 
of  the  editions  of  the  "  Garland  of  Goodwill,"  in  1604  and  1631 ; 
but  as  the  sheet  that  was  once  our  own  was  merely  a  fragment, 
and  the  Bodleian  copy  wants  sixteen  entire  pages,  we  have  not 
the  means  of  doing  so.  Collation  of  copies  dated  after  the  Res 
toration  would  only  show  that  the  author's  language  had  been 
more  or  less  corrupted,  without  at  all  establishing  what  he  origi 
nally  wrote. 

So  popular  was  this  collection  of  ballads  and  poems  during  a 
century  and  a  half,  that,  although  very  few  copies  of  any  date  are 
now  to  be  met  with,  it  was  so  fast  multiplied  between  1596,  when, 
we  apprehend,  it  first  appeared,  and  1760,  the  latest  date  of  any 
recorded  reprint,  that  it  must  have  gone  through  at  least  thirty 
impressions. 


DELONEY,  THOMAS. —  Strange  Histories  of  Songes  and 
Sonets  of  Kings,  Princes,  Dukes,  Lordes,  Ladyes, 
Knights  and  Gentlemen.  Very  pleasant  either  to  be 
read  or  songe :  and  a  most  excellent  warning  for  all 
estates.  —  Imprinted  at  London  for  W.  Barley,  and  are 
to  be  sold  at  his  Shop  &c.  1607.  B.  L.  8vo.  40 
leaves. 

This  was  doubtless  a  publication  by  Thomas  Deloney,  consisting 
principally  of  his  own  ballads,  with  a  few  compositions  by  other 
writers,  whose  initials  are  appended.  There  was  another  edition 
of  it  in  1612,  but  only  one  other  copy  of  this  earlier  impression 
is  known.  What  is  called  "  The  Table  "  commences  at  the  back 
of  the  title,  and  includes  twelve  ballads,  and  "  a  speech  betwenne 
certaine  Ladyes,  being  Shepheards  on  Salisburie  plaine,"  in  prose. 
To  these  are  added,  without  any  list  of  contents  applicable  to 
them,  Deloney's  well-known  ballad  of  Fair  Rosamond ;  "  A 
Sonnet ;  "  a  poem  entitled  Sonetta,  with  "  Finis  T.  R."  at  the 
end  ;  "  A  Maydes  Letter,"  ("  Finis  A.  C.")  ;  and  "  A  new  Dittie 


<£arln  (£119110!)  Citrratur*.  263 

in  prayse  of  Money,"  without  any  name  or  initials,  containing, 
with  seven  others,  the  following  spirited  stanzas  :  — 

"  Vertue  is  nothing  if  Money  be  wanting: 

Vertue  is  nothing  esteemed  or  set  by. 
Wisedome  is  folly  and  so  accounted, 

If  it  be  joyned  with  base  povertie. 
Learning's  contemned,  wit  is  condemned, 

Both  are  derided  of  rich  Miserie. 

"  He  that  is  wealthy  is  greatly  regarded, 

Though  he  be  never  so  simple  a  sot: 
He  that  is  needy,  he  is  despised, 

Tho  he  have  wisedome  which  th'  other  hath  not: 
Though  he  have  wisedome  (which  many  wanteth) 

Yet  is  his  credit  not  worth  a  grot. 

"  When  thou  hast  Money,  then  friendes  thou  hast  many, 
When  it  is  wasted  their  friendship  is  cold: 

Goe  by  Jeronimo !  no  man  then  will  thee  know, 
Knowing  thou  hast  neither  silver  nor  gold. 

No  man  will  call  thee  in,  no  man  will  set  a  pin 
For  former  friendship,  though  never  so  old." 

"  Go  by,  Jeronimo,"  was  an  almost  proverbial  expression,  from 
Kyd's  "  Spanish  Tragedy,"  1599,  and  instances  of  its  use  are  in 
numerable.  This  poem  "  in  praise  of  money  "  is  succeeded  by 
"An  Epigram,"  to  which  "  Finis  quoth  R."  is  appended,  with  sev 
eral  other  short  productions  of  the  same  kind,  including  what  are 
termed  four  "  Wise  Sentences."  The  last  two  pages  are  thus 
headed  :  —  "  These  Sentences  following  were  set  upon  Conduits 
in  London  against  the  day  that  King  James  came  through  the 
Citie  at  his  first  comming  to  the  Crowne."  The  following  is  the 
commencement  of  a  poem  which  follows  the  ballad  of  "  Fair  Rosa 
mond,"  and  is  called 

"A  Sonnet. 

"  All  you  yong  men  that  faine  wolde  learne  to  woe, 
And  have  no  rneanes  nor  know  not  how  to  doe, 
Come  you  to  mee  and  marke  what  I  shall  say, 
Which  being  done,  will  beare  the  Wench  away. 
First,  seeme  thou  wise  and  deck  thy  selfe  not  meanly, 
For  women  they  be  nice,  and  love  to  have  men  clenly. 


264  Bibltojjrapfjical  ^lacumt  of 

"  Next,  shew  thy  self  that  thou  hast  gone  to  schoole; 
Commende  her  wit,  although  she  be  a  foole : 
Speake  in  her  prayse,  for  women  they  be  proud ; 
Looke  what  she  sayes  for  troth  must  be  aloude. 
If  she  be  sad,  seeme  thou  as  sad  as  shee ; 
But  if  that  she  be  glad,  then  joy  with  merry  glee. 

"  And  in  this  mood  these  women  must  be  clawde. 
Give  her  a  glasse,  a  phan,  or  some  such  gawde, 
Or  (if  she  like)  a  hood,  a  capp,  or  hatt: 
Draw  to  thy  purse  and  straight  way  give  her  that. 
This  being  done,  in  time  thou  shalt  her  win, 
And  when  that  she  is  won,  let  tricks  of  love  begin. 

"  If  at  the  borde  you  both  sit  side  by  side, 
Say  to  her  this —  That  Jove  hath  no  such  bride. 
Or  if  it  chaunce  you  both  sit  face  to  face, 
Say  to  her  this —  Her  lookes  alone  sayes  grace. 
Such  tricks  as  this  use  oft  to  her  at  meat, 
For  nought  doth  better  please  then  doth  a  good  conceit." 

The  remaining  four  stanzas  are  not  nearly  so  good,  and  turn 
principally  on  indecent  plays  upon  words.  The  following  couplet 
of  an  Epigram,  subscribed  "  Finis  quoth  R"  has  survived  to  our 
own  day :  — 

"  Dull  sayes  he  is  so  weake  he  can  not  rise, 
Nor  stand  nor  goe:  if  that  be  true,  he  lyes." 


DELONEY,  THOMAS.  —  Thomas  of  Reading,  or  the  sixe 
worthie  Yeomen  of  the  West.  Now  the  fift  time  cor 
rected  and  enlarged  by  T.  D.  —  London  Printed  by  W. 
I.  for  T.  P.  1623.  B.  L.  4to.  38  leaves. 

Thomas  Deloney,  the  author  of  this  novel,  succeeded  Elderton 
as  the  writer  of  ballads  on  every  public  occasion,  when  it  was 
thought  that  such  a  production  would  be  salable.  Elderton 
ceased  to  write  about  the  time  when  Deloney  seems  to  have  com 
menced,  namely,  1585  or  1586.  Between  that  date  and  1600  his 
pen  was  very  constantly  employed,  and  he  did  not  omit  to  avail 
himself  of  the  excitement  occasioned  by  the  Spanish  Armada, 


<£nglt01j  Cittrature.  265 

regarding  -which  he  wrote  three  extant  ballads. l  In  the  summer 
of  1596  one  of  his  effusions  on  the  dearth  of  corn  was  complained 
of  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  who  also  mentioned  his  "  booke  for  the 
Silke-weavers,"  of  which  we  hear  on  no  other  authority  (Wright's 
"  Elizabeth  and  her  Times,"  II.  462).  Deloney  was  himself  called 
"  the  ballading  silk-weaver."  "  Richard  Delonie  sonne  of  Thomas 
Delonie"  was  christened  at  St.  Giles,  Cripplegate,  on  the  16th 
October  1586,  and  various  other  members  of  the  same  family  and 
name  resided  in  the  parish. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  work  before  us,  which  is  a  prose 
narrative  interspersed  with  songs,  came  out  prior  to  1600,  as 
Kempe,  the  comic  actor  at  the  Globe  Theatre,  in  that  year  states 
that  Deloney,  chronicler  of  the  memorable  lives  of  the  "  Six  Yeo 
men  of  the  West,"  "Jack  of  Newbery,""  The  Gentle  Craft,"  &c., 
had  written  ballads  on  the  subject  of  his  (Kempe's)  Morris-dance 
to  Norwich.  As  two  plays  founded  upon  "  Thomas  of  Reading" 
were  written  by  Day,  Hath  way,  Smith,  and  Haughton  in  1601, 
(vide  Hist,  of  Engl.  Dram.  Poetry,  III.  99,)  it  is  most  likely  that 
the  novel  had  been  printed  only  a  short  time  previously.  From 
Kempe's  testimony  (had  we  no  better)  the  same  date  might  be 

1  The  titles  of  the  three  ballads  regarding  the  Armada  are  these :  the 
first  was  entered  at  Stationers'  Hall  on  10th  Aug.  1588,  by  .John  Wolfe, 
but  without  any  mention  of  the  name  of  the  author :  — "  The  Queenes 
visiting  the  Campe  at  Tilsburie  with  her  Entertainment  there:  To  the 
tune  of  Wilsons  Wilde."  The  second  was  entered  on  the  same  day,  and 
in  the  same  manner,  and  the  following  is  its  title:  "  A  joyfull  Ballad,  de 
claring  the  happie  obtaining  of  the  great  Galleazzo,  wherein  Don  Pietro 
de  Valdez  was  the  Chiefe,  through  the  mightie  power  and  providence  of 
God,  being  a  speciall  token  of  his  gracious  and  fatherly  goodnes  towards 
us,  to  the  great  encouragement  of  all  those  that  willingly  fight  in  the 
defence  of  his  Gospell  and  our  good  Queene  of  England:  To  the  tune  of 
Mounseurs  Almaigne."  The  third  was  entered,  also  anonymously,  by 
Thomas  Orwyn  on  31st  Aug.  1588,  and  its  title  was  "  A  new  Ballet  of  the 
straunge  and  most  cruell  Whippes  which  the  Spanyards  had  prepared  to 
whippe  and  torment  English  men  and  women;  which  were  found  and 
taken  at  the  Overthrow  of  certaine  of  the  Spanishe  Shippes  in  July  last 
past,  1588:  To  the  tune  of  the  Valiant  Soldiour."  The  name  of  the 
author,  Deloney,  is  only  ascertained  by  his  initials  T.  D.  at  the  end  of 
each  broadside. 


266  33ibliograpl)tcal  Account  of 

assigned  to  "  The  Gentle  Craft,"  but  an  edition  of  it  printed  in 
1598  is  known,  and  it  had  been  entered  on  the  Stationers'  Books 
on  the  19th  of  October,- 1597,  as  "a  booke  called  the  gentle 
Crafte,  intreatinge  of  Shoo-makers." 

"Thomas  of  Reading"  was  printed  in  1612,  for  the  fourth 
time.  The  fifth  impression,  we  see,  was  not  issued  until  1623,  and 
the  sixth  came  out  in  1632.  In  the  edition  of  1623  there  is  no 
introductory  matter,  but  the  story  commences  immediately  after 
the  title-page,  and  concludes  on  sign.  K  2. 


DELONEY,  THOMAS.  —  The  pleasant  Historie  of  John 
Winchcomb,  in  his  yonguer  yeares  called  Jack  of  New- 
bery,  the  famous  and  worthy  Clothier  of  England ;  de 
claring  his  life  and  love,  together  with  his  charitable 
deeds  and  great  Hospitalitie  &c.  Now  the  tenth  time 
Imprinted,  corrected  and  enlarged  by  T.  D.  Hand  euro 
invidiam.  —  London,  Printed  by  H.  Lownes,  &c.  1626. 
B.  L.  4to.  46  leaves. 

This  production  was  even  more  popular  than  "  Thomas  of  Read 
ing."  That  work  only  reached  a  fifth  edition  by  1623  ;  but  "  Jack 
of  Newbery"  arrived  at  the  eighth  edition  by  1619,  and  at  the 
tenth  edition  by  1626.  It  was  again  printed  in  1633.  According 
to  Warton  (Hist.  Engl.  Poet.  IV.  257,  8vo),  it  was  entered  for 
publication  on  the  books  of  the  Stationers'  Company,  March  the 
7th,  1596  ;  but  he  mistook  a  year,  because  7th  March,  1596,  was, 
in  fact,  7th  March,  1597. 

In  "  Jack  of  Newbery,"  as  the  work  before  us  is  usually  desig 
nated,  is  inserted  the  celebrated  ballad  of  "  Flodden  Field,"  (Rit- 
son's  Ancient  Songs,  II.  70,  ed.  1829,)  which  is  highly  appropri 
ate,  as  John  Winchcomb  (according  to  Fuller,  in  his  "  Worthies 
of  Berkshire  ")  marched  to  it  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  of  his 
own  men.  He  also  feasted  King  Henry  VIII.  and  Queen  Kath- 
erine  at  his  house  at  Newbery.  A  good  deal  of  moderate  poetry 
is  interspersed. 


(Earln  (Knglisl)  Citcraturt.  267 

DEMAUNDES  JOYOUS.  —  The  Demaudes  Joyous.  [Colo 
phon]  Emprynted  at  London  in  Fletestrete  at  the  signe 
of  the  Sonne  by  me  Wynkyn  de  worde  In  the  yere  of 
our  lorde  M  ccccc  and  xi.  4to.  4  leaves. 

Ames,  Herbert,  and  Dibdin  never  saw  a  copy  of  this  extraor 
dinarily  rare  tract  —  so  rare  that  we  doubt  if  a  second  exemplar 
be  in  existence.  Ames  copied  Palmer,  and  Herbert  Ames,  while 
Dibdin  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  the  account  in  Coles' 
MSS.  (Typ.  Ant.  II.  165.)  There  are  two  figures  upon  the  title- 
page  representing  men  conversing,  one  bare-headed,  and  the 
other  in  a  sort  of  doctor's  gown  :  over  them  is  the  scroll,  "  The 
Demaudes  Joyous."  There  is  no  doubt,  as  Coles  remarks,  that  it 
is  a  book  addressed  to  the  lower  orders,  and  some  portions  of  it 
cannot  be  quoted. 

A  defective  reprint  of  it  was  attempted  some  years  ago,  from 
the  unique  copy  belonging  to  the  late  Mr.  Heber.  There  are  four 
errors  on  the  first  page  of  it,  and  even  the  colophon  is  not  given 
correctly,  for  Wynkyn  de  Worde  is  represented  as  carrying  on 
business  at  the  sign  of  the  Swan,  when  everybody  knows  that  his 
house  bore  the  sign  of  the  Sun.  We  may  make  a  few  unobjec 
tionable  citations  from  the  original,  which  will  remind  the  reader 
of  Nicholas  Breton's  "  Cross  Answers,"  of  which  we  have  spoken 
on  p.  13. 

"  Demaunde.  What  space  is  from  ye  hyest  space  of  the  se,  to  the  depest  V 
[Answer]  But  a  stones  cast.  [D.]  How  many  calues  tayles  behoueth  to 
reche  frome  the  erthe  to  the  skye.  [A.]  No  more  but  one  if  it  be  longe 
ynough.  [D.]  Whiche  is  the  brodest  water  and  leest  jeoperdye  to  passe 
over.  [A.]  The  dew.  [D.]  Why  driue  men  dogges  out  of  the  chyrche. 
[A.]  Bycause  they  come  not  vp  and  offre.  [D.]  What  almes  is  worst 
bestowed  that  men  giue.  [A.]  That  is  to  a  blynde  man,  for  as  he  hathe 
ony  thynge  gyuen  hym,  he  wolde  with  good  wyll  se  hym  hanged  by  the 
necke  that  gaue  it  hym.  [D.]  Wherfore  be  there  not  as  many  women 
conteyned  in  ye  daunce  of  poules  as  there  be  men.  [A.]  Bycause  a 
woman  is  so  ferefull  of  herte,  that  she  had  leuer  daunce  amonge  quicke 
folke  than  deed." 

This  of  course  refers  to  the  famous  painting  of  the  "  Dance  of 
Death"  in  old  St.  Paul's,  regarding  which  see  Douce's  work  on 


268  Btbliograpljical  Account  of 

the  "  Dance  of  Macaber,"  8vo,  1833,  p.  51,  or  Stow's  "  Survey," 
edition  of  1599,  p.  264.     We  make  another  brief  quotation  :  — 

"  [D.]  What  was  he  that  slewe  the  fourth  parte  of  the  worlde.  [A.] 
Cayne  when  he  slewe  his  broder  abell,  in  the  whiche  tyme  was  but  foure 
persones  in  the  worlde.  [D.]  What  man  is  he  that  geteth  his  lyvinge 
hacwarde.  [A.]  That  is  rope  maker.  [D.]  What  people  be  they  that 
geteth  theyr  lyuynge  most  merylyest.  [A.]  They  be  prestes  and  fullers, 
for  one  syngeth,  and  the  other  daunceth." 

Several  of  the  questions  and  answers,  as  we  have  already  stated, 
cannot  in  our  day  be  repeated,  but  others  have  considerable  and 
harmless  humor,  as  for  instance  where  the  demand  is  "  Why  dooth 
a  dogge  tourne  hym  thryes  aboute,  or  that  he  lyeth  hym  downe  ?  " 
and  the  reply  is  "  Bycause  he  knoweth  not  his  beddes  hede  frome 
the  fete."  It  is  a  curious  popular  relic,  and  well  merits  preserva 
tion  ;  but  in  the  reprint  of  it  there  are  about  fifty  variations  from 
the  original,  to  which  we  have  been  fortunately  able  to  resort. 

The  device  of  the  printer  fills  the  last  page ;  but  Cole,  in  quot 
ing  only  the  colophon,  misrepresents  the  spelling  of  Wynkyn 
de  Worde,  though  he  does  not  go  so  far  as  to  state  that  the  old 
typographer  carried  on  business  "at  the  sygne  of  the  swane," 
instead  of  the  "  sonne."  That  was  a  discovery  made  by  the  editor 
of  the  modern  impression. 


DICKENSON,  JOHN.  —  Greene  in   Conceipt.     New  raised 
from  his  grave  to  write  the  Tragique  Historic  of  faire 
Valeria  of  London.      Wherein  is  truly  discovered  the 
rare   and   lamentable   issue  of  a  Husbands   dotage,  a 
wives  leudnesse  and  childrens  disobedience.     Received 
and  reported  by  I.  D.      Veritas  non  qucerit  angulos,  um 
bra  gaudet.  —  Printed  at  London  by  Richard  Bradocke 
for  William  Jones,  dwelling  at  the  signe  of  the  Gunne 
neare  Holborne  conduit.     1598.    4to.    B.  L.    67  leaves. 
On  the  title-page  is  a  woodcut  representing   Robert   Greene, 
sitting  at  a  table  in  his  shroud,  writing.     The  object  of  the  author 
of  "  Greene  in  Conceipt "  was  to  connect  his  pamphlet  with  the 
popular  name  of  the  writer  of  so  many  successful  publications  ; 


(Earltj  (EnglisI)  Citerature.  269 

but  in  the  dedication,  signed  John  Diekenson,  "to  my  deare 
friend  Thomas  White,  of  CorfFe  in  Dorsetshire,"  he,  with  great 
emphasis,  denies  that  he  was  an  imitator  of  Greene,  and  yet 
nearly  every  page  proves  him  to  have  copied  his  prototype. 
Diekenson  in  1594  had  printed  "  Arisbas  :  Euphues  amidst  his 
slumbers,  or  Cupids  Journey  to  Hell,"  a  title  that  sufficiently 
indicates  the  source  of  his  inspiration  ;  and  here  he  promises  his 
friend  and  schoolfellow,  White,  that  he  would  in  due  time  pen 
something  better  than  "  Greene  in  Conceipt,"  which  he  terms 
one  of  his  "  youth's  follies." 

In  "  an  Advertisement  to  the  Reader,"  the  author  tells  him 
that  he  fell  asleep  while  perusing  Lucian's  "  Timon,"  and  dreamed 
that  he  saw  before  him  "  the  shape  of  a  well  proportioned  man, 
suted  in  deaths  livery,"  who  said  to  him  :  —  "I  am  he  whose  pen 
was  first  employed  in  the  advancement  of  vanitie,  and  afterward 
in  the  discovering  of  villanie ;  "  and  after  quoting  his  motto,  omne 
tulit  punctum  qui  miscuit  utile  dulci,  Greene  proceeds  "  boldly  to 
affirm  that  my  later  labours  have  made  a  large  part  of  amends  for 
those  former  vanities."  He  then  informs  Diekenson  that,  by  the 
aid  of  Mercury,  he  had  come  from  Elysium  in  order  to  write  the 
story  of  a  female  ghost  he  had  seen  ;  of  whom  he  remarks,  "  I 
knew  who  she  was,  and  remembred  when  she  dyed  :  she  lived  at 
London  in  florishing  estate,  and  as  lewde  a  dame  as  anye  in  that 
Citye."  Greene  is  only  allowed  by  Mercury  an  hour  to  begin  the 
novel,  and  he  leaves  the  conclusion  of  it  to  Diekenson.  The 
latter  pleads  incompetency,  but  Greene's  ghost  would  listen  to  no 
excuse,  and  having  dreamed  out  the  conclusion  of  the  tale,  Diek 
enson  awoke  and  wrote  it  down. 

The  prose,  as  we  have  stated,  is  an  imitation  of  Greene ;  but 
the  verse,  if  not  better,  is  as  good  as  any  Greene  himself  wrote. 
Valeria  is  married  to  an  old  man  named  Geraldo,  to  whom  she  is 
unfaithful,  indulging  in  every  species  of  pleasure.  The  following 
is  the  beginning  of  a  "  Canzon,"  which  she  sings  to  her  lute  :  — 

"  Happie  lot  to  men  assign'd, 
Hartes  with  hartes  in  love  combinde ! 
Love,  the  soule  of  earthly  sweetes 
When  with  mutuall  love  it  meets ; 
Not  consisting  all  in  lookes 


270  Bibliographical  Account  of 

Like  to  idols,  lay-tnens  bookes, 

But  who  tries  this  true  shall  prove, 

Action  is  the  life  of  love. 
Why  slacke  we,  then,  to  bath  in  sweet  delight, 
Before  our  day  be  turn'd  to  endlesse  night? 

"  Fairest  things  to  nothing  fade 

Wrapt  in  deaths  eternall  shade ^ 

Hence  I  prove  it  beauties  crime 

Not  to  reape  the  fruits  of  time : 

Time  which  passeth  swift  as  thought, 

Time  whose  blisse  is  dearely  bought, 

Dearely  bought  so  soone  to  faile  us, 

Soone,  that  should  so  long  availe  us. 
Why  slacke  we,  then,  to  bath  in  sweete  delight, 
Before  our  daye  be  turn'd  to  endlesse  night?  " 

If  not  very  original  in  thought,  the  wording  is  extremely 
harmonious,  and  the  same  praise  may  be  given  to  another  song, 
celebrating  Valeria's  birthday,  by  one  of  her  illicit  lovers  :  — 

"  Let  others  use  what  Calenders  they  please, 

And  celebrate  their  common  holidayes, 
My  rules  of  time,  my  times  of  joy  and  ease, 

Shall  in  my  zeale  blaze  thy  perfection's  praise. 
Their  names  and  worth  they  from  thy  worth  shall  take, 
And  highly  all  be  honoured  for  thy  sake.  *  *  * 

"  Haile,  happy  day !  to  whome  the  world  doth  owe 

The  blissefull  issue  of  that  influence, 
Which  from  the  force  of  best  aspects  did  growe, 

In  luckiest  house  of  heaven's  circumference. 
Haile,  happy  dale!  that  first  did  shewe  this  aire 
To  her  whom  Fairenes  selfe  doth  yield  more  faire !  *  *  * 

"  Such  and  so  long  may  be  to  me  her  love, 
As  He  this  vow  religiously  maintaine: 
So  may  my  plaints  her  heart  to  pittie  moove, 

As  from  my  heart  I  speake !  let  false  hearts  faine. 
Haile,  happie  day!  but,  then,  how  happie  shee, 
Who  makes  this  day  thus  happy  unto  me !  " 

But  Dickenson  is  not  satisfied  with  trying  his  hand  at  ordinary 
lyrical  measures :  he  attempts  some  English  hexameters  ;  and  how 
ever  ill-suited  to  our  language  we  may  consider  such  verses,  then 


Ij  Citcratur*.  271 

somewhat  fashionable  by  the  examples  of  Sidney,  Spenser,  Dyer, 
Fraunce,  and  others,  we  cannot  deny  that  Dickenson  writes  them 
quite  as  well  as  his  rivals,  with  this  additional  merit,  that  he  does 
not  require  us  to  sacrifice  accent,  which  is  the  rule  in  English,  to 
any  fancied  conformity  to  the  quantities  of  Greek  and  Latin  :  e.g., 

"As  when  a  wave-bruis'd  barke,  long  tost  by  winds  in  a  tempest, 
Straies  on  a  forraine  coast,  in  danger  still  to  be  swallow'd, 
After  a  world  of  feares,  with  a  winter  of  horrible  objects, 
Heaven  in  a  weeke  of  nights  obscurd,  day  turn'd  to  be  darknes, 
The  shipman's  solace,  faier  Ledas  twinnes,  at  an  instant, 
Signes  of  a  calme,  are  scene,  and  scene  are  shrilly  saluted : 
So  to  my  drooping  thoughts,  when  sorrow  most  doth  await  me, 
Your  subduing  lookes,  in  fayrenesse  first  of  a  thousand, 
(Staine  to  the  brightest  star  that  glides  the  roofe  of  Olympus) 
Calm'd  with  a  kind  aspect,  vouchsafe  large  hopes  to  releve  me." 

Here,  with  the  exception  of  "  subduing,"  there  is  no  word  to 
which  any  other  than  the  ordinary  modern  pronunciation  need  be 
given  for  the  sake  of  the  measure ;  and  even  as  to  "  subduing," 
the  emphasis  in  Dickenson's  day  was  frequently  laid  upon  the  first 
syllable. 

Of  the  story  of  Valeria  we  really  need  say  no  more  than  that 
it  is  an  example  of  the  misery  to  which  vice  ultimately  leads  ;  for 
the  once  beautiful  Valeria  dies  wretchedly,  after  having  been 
succored  and  supported  by  one  of  her  own  servants.  This  copy 
is  the  only  one  we  ever  happen  to  have  heard  of. 


DOBSON,  GEORGE.  —  Dobsons  Drie  Bobbes:  Sonne  and 
Heire  to  Scoggin.  —  London  Printed  by  Valentine 
Simmes.  1607.  4to.  B.  L. 

In  bibliographical  catalogues  the  date  of  1610  is  given  to  this 
work  :  it  is  an  error,  for  both  the  known  copies  are  dated  1607.1 
In  an  address  "  To  the  Reader,"  without  name  or  initials,  we  are 
assured  "  that  it  is  no  forraine  translation,  but  a  home-bred  sub- 

1  Mr.  Bohn,  in  his  second  edition  of  the  Bibl.  Man.  p.  654,  incautiously 
followed  the  statement  of  Lowndes  in  the  first  edition. 


272  Bibltograpljical  Account  of 

ject,  nor  doth  he  (the  writer)  desire  any  other  than  his  patrimony, 
which  is,  as  being  the  eldest  sonne  of  Skoggin,  to  be  esteemed  for 
no  changeling."  At  the  end  we  are  told  that  the  old  joker  is 
no  other  than  George  Dobson,  "  whose  pleasant  meriments  are 
worthy  to  be  registred  among  the  famous  recordes  of  the  jeasting 
Worthies :  yea,  he  hath  proceeded  farther  in  degree  than  Gara- 
gantua,  Howleglasse,  Tiell,  Skoggin,  olde  Hobson  or  Code." 

We  may  either  suppose  that  "  Tiell "  is  a  misprint  for  Peele, 
whose  jests  were  published  soon  after  his  decease  in  1596,  or  that 
the  confusion  in  the  old  printer's  mind  arose  out  of  the  fact  that 
the  other  name  of  Howleglasse  was  Till :  possibly,  Howleglasse 
and  Tiell  changed  places,  and  that  we  ought  to  read  Tiell  Howle 
glasse.  "  A  mery  Jeste  of  Howleglas  "  was  printed  by  W.  Cop 
land.  "  Scoggin's  Jests  "  were  also  in  print  long  before  the  date 
of  any  edition  that  has  reached  our  day.  Hobson's  Jests  came 
out  in  1607,  but  regarding  Code  we  can  give  no  information. 
"  Dobson's  Dry  Bobs  "  is  merely  a  collection  of  low,  stupid,  and 
often  coarse  jokes,  not  a  few  of  them  of  long-established  reputa 
tion,  but  fathered  as  infants  upon  George  Dobson,  for  the  sake  of 
filling  the  volume. 


DOVE  AND  SERPENT.  —  The  Dove  and  the  Serpent.  In 
which  is  conteined  a  large  description  of  all  such  points 
and  principles  as  tend  either  to  Conversation  or  Nego 
tiation.  Tuta  velis ;  Tutus  eris.  —  London  Printed  by 
T.  C.  for  Laurence  L'isle,  dwelling  at  the  Tygres  head 
in  S.  Pauls  Church-yard.  1614.  4to.  50  leaves. 

The  "  subjects  "  of  the  fifteen  chapters  into  which  this  rather 
dull,  but  not  prosy  (for  a  good  deal  of  translated  verse  is  inter 
mixed)  work  is  divided,  follow  the  title-page.  The  dedication  to 
Sir  Henry  Mountagu,  Knight,  Recorder  of  London,  is  subscribed 
D.  T.,  which  some  have  taken  for  the  initials  of  Thomas  Dekker 
reversed.  This  is  not  the  case.  Our  old  poet,  dramatist,  and 
pamphleteer  never  transposed  his  initials,  and  could  not  have  put 
together  anything  so  commonplace.  On  the  other  hand,  we  may 


£itcratar*.  273 

be  pretty  sure  that  D.  T.  was  the  same  author  who  in  1608  and 
1609  had  published  two  small  volumes  of  "  Essayes  politicke  and 
morall,"  and  "  Essayes  morall  and  theological!."  He  was  a  man 
well  read  in  classical  authors,  whom  he  quotes  freely  both  in 
Greek  and  Latin,  and  some  of  his  versified  translations  from 
Horace,  Juvenal,  Virgil,  &c.  are  not  amiss ;  but  his  own  observa 
tions  have  no  originality,  and  his  style  is  wearisome.  He  once 
(p.  91)  quotes  four  lines  from  Spenser's  "  Faery  Queene,"  (B.  I. 
C.  12,  st.  42,)  but  without  any  accompanying  praise,  and  merely 
by  way  of  illustration  of  what  he  means  by  a  tropical  expression. 
Spenser  is,  however,  the  only  English  poet  whom  he  condescends 
to  mention  ;  and  on  a  single  other  occasion  he  refers  to  a  topic 
of  the  time,  when  (p.  31)  he  blames  the  corruptions  that  prevail 
in  "  Great  Britaines  Court,"  by  which  "  the  prince's  breath  "  is 
sold  to  "  poore  needy  suppliants "  at  an  excessive  rate.  As  a 
specimen  of  some  little  skill  in  rendering  the  language  of  others 
into  his  own,  we  may  extract  his  version  of  Martiall's  well-known 
epigram,  Vitam  quce  faciunt  beatiorem,  frc.,  and  we  will  follow 
it  by  a  similar  effort  by  Ben  Jonson,  which  has  never  been 
printed  with  his  works,  but  which  we  met  with  in  his  own  hand 
writing  at  Dulwich.  D.  T.  gives  it  thus :  — 

"  The  things  that  make  man's  life  more  happie  seerae 
Are  these,  delightfull  Martiall,  as  I  deeme. 
Wealth  not  by  labour  got,  but  left  by  will; 
A  fruitfull  field,  a  fier  burning  still; 
Meane  clothes,  no  strife  the  mindes  rest  to  confound; 
Indifferent  strength,  a  body  firme  and  sound ; 
Warie  Simplicitie  and  equall  friends; 
An  easie  Diet,  which  no  art  commends; 
The  night  not  drunke,'yet  loose  and  free  from  care; 
The  bed  not  sad,  though  chaste  beyond  compare; 
Sleepe  which  may  make  the  longest  darkes  but  short, 
(Never  disturbd  with  thoughts  of  worldly  sort.) 
Be  still  well-pleas'd  to  be  that  which  thou  art, 
And  let  thy  choyce  affect  no  greater  part: 
Feare  not  the  day  which  must  thy  life  up-summe, 
Nor  wish  the  same  before  the  time  doe  come." 

VOL.  I.  18 


274  Btbltograpljiral  ^Icromtt  of 

We  now  subjoin,  from  his  own  MS.,1  the  terse  and  nervous  man 
ner  in  which  Ben  Jonson  gives  it :  — 

"  The  things  that  make  the  happier  life  are  these, 
Most  pleasant  Martial :  Substance  got  with  ease, 
Not  labour'd  for,  but  left  thee  by  thy  Sire; 
A  soyle  not  barren ;  a  continuall  fire ; 
Never  at  law;  seldome  in  office  gownd; 
A  quiet  mind,  free  powers,  and  body  sound ; 
A  wise  simplicity;  friends  alike  stated; 
Thy  table  without  art,  and  easy  rated : 
Thy  night  not  dronken,  but  from  cares  layd  wast; 
No  soure  or  sollen  bed-mate,  yet  a  chast; 
Sleepe  that  will  make  the  darkest  houres  swift-pac't; 
Will  to  be  what  thou  art,  and  nothing  more ; 
Nor  feare  thy  latest  day,  nor  wish  therefore." 

D.  T.  supplies  for  comparison  the  words  of  the  original,  which 
Ben  Jonson  in  many  respects  has  so  well  imitated.  His  most  de 
fective  line  certainly  is,  Nox  non  elria,  sed  soluta  curis,  in  which 
D.  T.,  we  venture  to  think,  has  succeeded  at  least  as  well  as  our 
great  master  of  Roman  English.  The  amplifications  of  D.  T.  are 
detestable,  and  worst  of  all  his  gratuitous  and  superfluous  paren 
thesis,  — 

"  Never  disturbd  with  thoughts  of  worldly  sort." 


DRAYTON,  MICHAEL.  —  Idea.  The  Shepheards  Garland. 
Fashioned  in  nine  Eglogs.  Rowlands  Sacrifice  to  the 
nine  Muses.  Effugiunt  auidos  Carmina  sola  rogos. — 
Imprinted  at  London  for  Thomas  Woodcocke,  dwelling 
in  Pauls  Churchyarde,  at  the  signe  of  the  black  Beare. 
1593.  4to.  37  leaves. 

This  is  Drayton's  second  known  work,  his  "  Harmonic  of  the 
Church  "  (printed  in  1591  and  1610)  being  his  first.  Throughout 
he  calls  his  mistress  by  the  name  of  Idea ;  and  from  this  publica 
tion  he  derived  his  own  poetical  appellation  of  Rowland,  by  which 
he  was  afterwards  known  and  spoken  of  among  his  contempora- 

1  See  also  "  Memoirs  of  Edward  Alleyn,"  8vo,  1841,  p.  54. 


275 

Ties.  This  edition  deserves  especial  remark,  because  the  work  sub 
sequently  underwent  numerous  and  important  changes,  and  more 
especially  because  it  contains  several  poems  that  were  never  re 
printed  by  the  author.  One  of  these  is  an  elegy,  as  it  may  be 
called,  upon  the  death  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  whom  Drayton  cele 
brates  as  Elphin.  It  is  to  be  observed  also,  that  in  posterior  im 
pressions  the  arguments  preceding  the  eclogues,  and  the  mottos 
by  which  they  are  concluded,  were  omitted. 

The  dedication  "  to  the  noble  and  valerous  gentleman,  Master 
Robert  Dudley,"  is  subscribed  Michael  Drayton,  but  in  the  body 
of  the  work  he  never  mentions  himself  but  by  his  assumed  and 
favorite  name,  sometimes  only  Rowland,  or  "  little  Rowland,"  and 
at  others  "  Rowland  of  the  Rock." 

It  is  impossible  to  give  an  adequate  notion  of  the  many  altera 
tions  subsequently  introduced;  but  here  and  there  they  are  so 
extensive  as  to  give  the  whole  pastoral  an  appearance  of  novelty. 
One  of  the  most  striking  of  these  is  "  the  sixt  Eglog,"  where  Dray 
ton  introduced  some  very  high-flown  praises  of  the  Countess  of 
Pembroke  ;  among  other  things,  speaking  of  her  as  a  bird :  — 

"  Delicious  Larke,  sweete  musick  of  the  morrow, 
Cleere  bell  of  Ehetoricke,  ringing  peales  of  love; 
Joy  of  the  Angels,  sent  us  from  above, 
Enchanting  Syren,  charmer  of  all  sorrow, 
The  loftie  subiect  [of]  a  heavenly  tale, 
Thames  fairest  Swanne,  our  summers  Nightingale." 

The  word  "  of"  is  inserted  in  MS.  by  an  old  hand,  and  it  was 
evidently  omitted  by  error  of  the  press.  The  same  blunder  occurs 
afterwards  and  is  similarly  corrected.  There  are  several  men 
tions  of  Spenser  in  the  eclogues,  by  his  assumed  and  well-known 
name  of  Colin :  — 

"  And  I  to  thee  will  be  as  kinde, 
As  Colin  was  to  Rosalinde,"  &c. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  in  the  stanza  we  have  just  quoted,  in 
praise  of  "  Sidney's  sister,"  Drayton  adopts  an  expression  Spen 
ser  had  applied  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in  1590,  in  the  sonnet  to 
him  appended  to  the  first  three  books  of  "  The  Fairy  Queen." 

"  To  thee  that  art  the  summer's  nightingale !  " 


276  Bibliographical  2Ucount  of 

The  poem,  contained  in  Drayton's  fourth  Eclogue,  upon  the 
loss  of  Sidney,  which  for  some  reason  was  not  reprinted  by  the 
author  in  subsequent  editions  of  his  works,  may  be  here  fitly 
quoted  at  length  :  — 

"  Melpomine,  put  on  thy  mourning  Gaberdine, 
And  set  thy  song  unto  the  dolefull  Base, 
And  with  thy  sable  vayle  shadow  thy  face : 
with  weeping  verse 
attend  his  hearse, 
Whose  blessed  soule  the  heavens  doe  now  enshrine. 

"  Come,  Nymphs,  and  with  your  Rebecks  ring  his  knell; 
Warble  forth  your  wamenting  harmony ; 
And  at  his  drery  fatall  obsequie 

with  Cypres  bowes 

maske  your  fayre  Browes, 
And  beat  your  breasts  to  chyme  his  burying  peale. 

"  Thy  birth-day  was  to  all  our  ioye  the  even, 
And  on  thy  death  this  dolefull  song  we  sing: 
Sweet  Child  of  Pan,  and  the  Castalian  spring ! 

unto  our  endles  mone 

from  us  why  art  thou  gone, 
To  fill  up  that  sweete  Angels  quier  in  heaven? 

"  0,  whylome  thou  thy  lasses  dearest  love, 
When  with  greene  Lawrell  she  hath  crowned  thee, 
Immortall  mirror  of  all  Poesie, 

the  Muses  treasure, 

the  Graces  pleasure, 
Eeigning  with  Angels  now  in  heaven  above. 

"  Our  mirth  is  now  depriv'd  of  all  her  glory; 
Our  Taburins  in  dolefull  dumps  are  drownd ; 
Our  viols  want  their  sweet  and  pleasing  sound : 
our  melodic  is  mar'd, 
and  we  of  ioyes  debard : 
Oh  wicked  world,  so  mutable  and  transitory! 

"0  dismall  day,  bereaver  of  delight! 
O  stormy  winter,  sourse  of  all  our  sorrow! 
6  most  untimely  and  eclipsed  morrow, 

to  rob  us  quite 

of  all  delight, 
Darkening  that  starre  which  ever  shone  so  bright ! 


tfnjliBl)  Citerature.  277 

"  Oh  Elphin,  Elphin !  Though  thou  hence  be  gone, 
In  spight  of  death  yet  shalt  thou  live  for  aye : 
Thy  Poesie  is  garlanded  with  Baye, 

and  still  shall  blaze 

thy  lasting  prayse, 
Whose  losse  poore  shepherds  ever  shall  bemone. 

"  Come,  Girles,  and  with  Carnations  decke  his  grave, 
With  damaske  Roses  and  the  hyacynt ; 
Come  with  sweete  Williams,  Marjoram  and  Mynt, 

with  precious  Balmes, 

with  hymnes  and  psalmes; 
His  funerall  deserves  no  lesse  at  all  to  have. 

"  But  see  where  Elphin  sits  in  fayre  Elizia, 
Feeding  his  flocke  on  yonder  heavenly  playne ; 
Come  and  behold  yon  lovely  shepheards  swayne 
piping  his  fill 
on  yonder  hill, 
Tasting  sweete  Nectar  and  Ambrosia." 

In  the  eclogue,  as  he  afterwards  printed  it,  Drayton  gave  his 
lamentation  for  the  untimely  death  of  Sidney  a  totally  different 
form.  The  above  can  hardly  be  the  epitaph  on  Sidney  spoken  of 
by  N.  Baxter  in  "  Ourania,"  1606.  (See  p.  76.) 

The  encomium  on  Queen  Elizabeth  under  the  name  of  Beta, 
in  the  third  eclogue,  is  much  the  same  in  the  earlier  and  later  im 
pressions.  The  song  in  praise  of  his  mistress,  in  the  second  eclogue, 
was  not  repeated  after  1593,  but  another  substituted ;  and  the  same 
may  be  said  of  the  "  doleful  elegy  "  imputed,  just  afterwards,  by 
Winken  to  Rowland.  Rowland's  description  of  "  Idea,"  in  the 
fifth  eclogue,  is  nearly  all  new  ;  and  Borrill's  denunciation  of  love, 
in  the  seventh  eclogue,  has  little  more  than  the  termination  of 
the  same  in  subsequent  editions.  In  early  life  Drayton  was  not 
so  particular  in  the  exactness  of  his  rhymes  as  he  had  become 
when  he  republished  his  pastorals.  Take  for  instance  the  follow 
ing  stanza  in  Eclogue  VIII. 

"  The  infant  age  could  deftly  carroll  love, 

till  greedy  thirst  of  that  ambitious  honor 
Drew  Poets  pen  from  his  sweete  lasses  glove, 
to  chaunt  of  slaughtering  broiles  and  bloody  horror." 


278  HHbltograplj'tral  UUcotmt  of 

The  author  subsequently  made  it  stand  thus  :  — 
"  That  simple  age  as  simple  sung  of  love, 

Till  thirst  of  empire  and  of  earthly  sways 
Drew  the  good  shepherd  from  his  lasses  glove, 
To  sing  of  slaughter  and  tumultuous  frays." 

Many  proofs  to  the  same  effect  might  be  found  in  these  pasto 
rals.  The  tale  of  Dowsabell  and  the  Shepherd,  in  the  eighth 
eclogue,  underwent  little  or  no  change. 

The  copy  we  have  here  used  has  the  autograph  of  Robert  Earl 
of  Essex,  Queen  Elizabeth's  beheaded  favorite,  upon  the  title- 
page.  We  dare  not  impute  to  him  various  MS.  alterations,  but 
they  are  most  of  them  singularly  judicious.  For  instance,  in  one 
place  Dray  ton  mentions  Chaucer,  — 

"  Or  else  some  Romaunt  unto  us  areed 

Which  good  old  Geffrey  taught  thee  in  thy  youth." 

Here  Geffrey  is  misprinted  Godfrey,  but  altered  to  Geffrey  in 
a  handwriting  of  the  time.     Again,  in  Drayton's  song  in  praise  of 
Beta  (i.  e.  Queen  Elizabeth),  we  meet  with  this  couplet :  — 
"  And  tune  the  taher  and  the  pipe  to  the  sweet  violons, 
And  move  the  thunder  in  the  ayre  with  lowdest  clarions." 

Here  "  move  "  ought  probably  to  be  mocke,  and  to  that  word  it  is 
amended  in  MS. 

We  never  saw  more  than  two  copies  of  Drayton's  "  Shepheards 
Garland,"  4to,  1593  ;  one  that  belonged  to  the  late  Mr.  Heber, 
and  the  other  the  exemplar  we  have  employed. 


DRAYTON,  MICHAEL.  —  Endimion  and  Phoebe.  Ideas 
Latmus.  Phoebus  erit  nostri  princeps,  et  carminis  Au 
thor.  —  At  London,  Printed  by  James  Roberts  for  John 
Busbie.  n.  d.  4to.  25  leaves. 

This  is  a  production  which  Drayton  thought  fit  wholly  to  sup 
press  ;  for  the  few  lines  he  inserted  from  it  in  his  "  Man  in  the 
Moon,"  some  years  afterwards,  cannot  be  said  to  contradict  the 
general  statement,  that  after  the  first  appearance  of  "  Endimion 
and  Phoebe,"  he  never  acknowledged  it  as  one  of  his  works. 


<£ngli0lj  Ctterature.  279 

He  dedicated  it  in  a  sonnet,  subscribed  with  his  name  at  length, 
"  To  the  excellent  and  most  accomplisht  Ladie,  Lucie  Countesse  of 
Bedford ; "  and  although  he  rejected  the  poem  it  introduced,  he 
did  not  suppress  this  sonnet,  which  appeared  among  the  pieces  he 
collected  and  printed  in  1605.  At  the  back  of  the  sonnet  is  a 
laudatory  effusion  of  the  same  kind  with  the  initials  E.  P.,  (which 
we  cannot  satisfactorily  assign,)  and  there  Drayton  is  addressed  by 
his  poetical  name  of  Rowland.  It  begins  — 

"  Rouland,  when  first  I  read  thy  stately  rymes 

In  Sheepheards  weedes,  when  yet  thou  liv'dst  unknown, 

Not  scene  in  publique  in  those  former  tymes, 
But  unto  Ankor  tund'st  thy  Pype  alone, 

I  then  beheld  thy  chaste  Ideas  fame,"  &c., 

clearly  referring  to  his  "  Idea.  The  Shepheards  Garland,"  of 
1593.  The  poem  before  us  has  no  date,  but  it  must  have  been 
printed  in  1594,  because  it  is  not  only  alluded  to,  but  quoted  by 
Thomas  Lodge  in  his  "  Fig  for  Momus,"  which  came  out  in  1595. 
The  sonnet  by  E.  P.  is  succeeded  by  one  entitled  "  To  Idea,"  to 
which  the  initials  S.  G.  are  appended  ;  and  there  is  no  writer  of 
that  period  to  whom  they  can  be  appropriated  but  Stephen  Gos- 
son,  who  continued  a  miscellaneous  poet  until  1595  and  1596,  and 
who  may  then  have  been  one  of  Drayton's  admirers.  S.  G.  says 
of  Drayton, 

"  Borne  to  create  good  thoughts  by  thy  rare  woorth, 

Whom  Nature  with  her  bounteous  store  doth  blesse, 
More  excellent  then  Art  can  set  thee  forth, 
Happy  in  more  then  praises  can  expresse." 

The  body  of  the  poem,  which  is  in  couplets,  (like  Marlow's 
"  Hero  and  Leander,"  written  probably  before  Drayton  began  to 
print,  although  not  published  until  1598,)  commences  on  the  next 
leaf,  marked  with  the  signature  B,  thus :  — 

"  In  I-onia  whence  sprang  old  Poets  fame, 

From  whom  that  Sea  did  first  derive  her  name, 

The  blessed  bed  whereon  the  Muses  lay, 

Beauty  of  Greece,  the  pride  of  Asia ; 

Whence  Archelaus,  whom  times  historifie, 

First  unto  Athens  brought  Phylosophie; 

In  this  faire  Region,  on  a  goodly  Plaine, 


280  Bibliojraptjkol  SUaront  of 

Stretching  her  bounds  unto  the  bordring  Maine, 
The  Mountaiiie  Latmns  over-lookes  the  Sea,"  &c. 

We  soon  arrive  at  a  passage  which  Drayton  would,  perhaps, 
never  have  written,  had  not  Spenser  printed  something  even  bet 
ter  in  Canto  12  of  Book  II.  of  his  "  Fairy  Queen,"  st.  70  and  71. 
Drayton's  lines  are  beautiful,  and  refer  to  the  various  songs  of  the 
birds :  — 

"  The  Nightingale,  woods  Herauld  of  the  Spring, 
The  whistling  Woosell,  Mavis  carroling, 
Tuning  theyr  trebbles  to  the  waters  fall, 
Which  made  the  musicque  more  angelicall ; 
Whilst  gentle  Zephyre  murmuring  among 
Kept  tyme,  and  bare  the  burthen  to  the  song." 

It  is  quite  needless  to  follow  the  story  in  which,  in  general,  Dray- 
ton  more  imitates  the  style  of  Marlow  than  of  Spenser.    He  seems, 
almost  expressly,  to  avoid  anything  like  a  resemblance  to  Shak- 
speare,  whose  "  Venus  and  Adonis,"  it  will  be  remembered,  had 
come  out  in  stanzas  in  the  preceding  year,  and  whose  "  Lucrece," 
also  in  stanzas  though  of  a  different  form,  was  printed  in  the  same 
year  as  Drayton's  "  Endimion  and  Phoebe."  1     The  following  be 
gins  an  account  of  a  meeting  between  the  two :  — 
"  And  comming  now  to  her  Endimion, 
Whom  heavy  sleepe  had  lately  ceas'd  upon, 

1  In  the  edition  of  Shakspeare  ( Whittaker  and  Co.  1858),  Vol.  VI.  p.  525, 
a  mistake  is  committed,  where  it  is  said  that  Drayton,  after  the  original 
impression  of  his  "  Legend  of  Matilda"  in  1594,  left  out  a  stanza  in  which 
express  reference  was  made,  and  praise  given,  to  Shakspeare's  "  Lucrece," 
also  published  in  1594.  The  fact  is  that  Drayton  did  not  omit  the  stanza 
until  after  1596,  and  two  years,  in  a  question  of  the  kind,  are  highly  im 
portant.  The  edition  of  1596  bears  the  following  title,  and  we  will  add  to 
it  the  three  stanzas  as  they  are  there  given,  which  clearly  allude  to 
Daniel,  Shakspeare,  Churchyard,  and  Lodge:  — 

"The  Tragicall  Legend  of  Robert  Duke  of  Normandy,  surnamed  Shortthigh, 
eldest  sonne  to  William  Conqueror,  with  the  Legend  of  Matilda  the  chast,  daughter 
to  the  Lord  Robert  Fitzwater,  poysoned  by  King  John.  And  the  Legend  of  Piers 
Gaveston,  the  great  Earle  of  Cornwall,  and  mighty  favourite  of  King  Edward  the 
second.  By  Michaell  Drayton.  The  latter  two  by  him  newly  corrected  and  aug 
mented.  —  At  London,  Printed  by  Ja.  Roberts  for  N.  L.  and  are  to  be  solde  at  his 
shop  at  the  West  doore  of  Paules.  1596."  4to. 

The  stanzas,  as  they  originally  appeared  in  1594,  are  thus  repeated 


fl  €ngltsl)  f  iteratare.  281 

Kneeling  her  downe,  him  in  her  arms  she  clips, 

And  with  sweet  kisses  sealeth  up  his  lips, 

Whilst  from  her  eyes  teares,  streaming  downe  in  showrs, 

Fell  on  his  cheekes  like  dew  upon  the  flowre, 

In  globy  circles  like  pure  drops  of  Milk 

Sprinckled  on  Roses,  or  fine  crimson  silk. 

Touching  his  brow,  this  is  the  seate  (quoth  she) 

Where  Beauty  sits  in  all  her  Maiestie ! 

She  calls  his  eye-lids  those  pure  christall  covers, 

Which  do  include  the  looking  glasse  of  Lovers : 

She  calls  his  lips  the  sweet  delicious  folds 

Which  rare  perfume  and  precious  incense  holds  : 

She  calls  his  soft  smooth  Allablaster  skin 

The  Lawne  which  Angels  are  attyred  in." 


in  1596:  the  first  praises  Daniel,  the  second  Shakspeare,  and  the  third 
Churchyard  and  Lodge :  — 

"  Faire  Rosamond,  of  all  so  highly  graced, 
Recorded  in  the  lasting  booke  of  Fame, 
And  in  our  Sainted  Legendarie  placed 
By  him  who  strives  to  stellifie  her  name  ; 
Yet  will  some  Matrons  say  shee  was  to  blame, 

Though  all  the  world  bewitched  with  his  rime, 

Yet  all  his  skill  cannot  excuse  her  crime. 

"  Lucrece  of  whom  proud  Rome  hath  bosted  long, 
Lately  reyiy'd  to  lire  another  age, 
And  here  arriv'd  to  tell  of  Tarquins  wrong, 
Her  chast  deniall  and  the  Tyrants  rage, 
Acting  her  passions  on  our  stately  stage, 

Shee  is  remembred,  all  forgetting  mee  ; 

Yet  I  as  faire  and  chast  as  ere  was  shee. 

"  Shores  Wife  is  in  her  wanton  humor  sooth'd, 
And  modern  Poets  still  applaud  her  praise  ; 
Our  famous  Elstreds  wrinckled  brows  are  smooth'd, 
Call'd  from  her  graye  to  see  these  latter  dayes  ; 
And  happy's  hee  their  glory  high'st  can  raise. 
Thus  looser  wantons  still  are  prais'd  of  many  : 
Vice  oft  findes  friends,  but  yertue  seldom  any." 

Therefore,  if  any  quarrel  ever  occurred  between  Drayton  and  Shak 
speare,  which  led  the  former  afterwards  to  omit  the  stanza  upon  "  Lu 
crece,"  it  is  probable  that  it  did  not  happen  until  subsequent  to  1596.  We 
are  the  more  anxious  to  set  this  matter  right,  because  the  question  arose 
out  of  our  original  error  in  1843.  See  the  edition  of  Shakspeare's  Works 
in  that  year,  Vol.  VIII.  p.  411. 


282  Bibliographical  ^laount  of 

We  have  already  stated  that  Lodge  in  his  "  Fig  for  Momus," 
1595,  expressly  cites  "Endimion  and  Phoebe";  and  the  Epistle 
•where  he  does  so  is  addressed  "  to  Master  Michael  Drayton," 
whom  he  has  also  called  Rowland  in  an  Eclogue  between  Wagrin 
and  Golde,  —  Golde  being  only  the  letters  of  Lodge  transposed. 
The  most  interesting  part  of  "  Endimion  and  Phoebe,"  on  some 
accounts  is  the  latter  end,  where  Drayton  bestows  high  praise 
upon  Lodge,  by  the  name  of  Goldey,  upon  Spenser,  by  the  name 
of  Collin,  and  upon  Daniel,  by  reference  to  his  "  Delia."  It  may 
be  thought  somewhat  singular  that  he  does  not  speak  of  Shak- 
speare  ;  but  he  also  omits  Marlow,  who  was  then  recently  dead,  and 
of  whose  "  Hero  and  Leander  "  Drayton's  effusion  most  reminds 
us.  His  address  to  Spenser,  Daniel,  and  Lodge  runs  thus :  — 

"  Dear  Collin,  let  my  Muse  excused  be, 
Which  rudely  thus  presumes  to  sing  by  thee, 
Although  her  straines  be  harsh  untun'd  and  ill, 
Nor  can  attayne  to  thy  divinest  skill. 

"  And  thou,  the  sweet  Museus  of  these  times, 
Pardon  my  rugged  and  unfiled  rymes, 
Whose  scarce  invention  is  too  meane  and  base, 
When  Delias  glorious  Muse  dooth  come  in  place. 

"  And  thou,  my  Goldey,  which  in  Sommer  dayes 
Hast  feasted  us  with  merry  roundelayes ; 
And,  when  my  Muse  scarce  able  was  to  flye, 
Didst  imp  her  wings  with  thy  sweete  Poesie." 

The  last  line  would  indicate  that  Lodge,  being  an  older  poet 
than  Drayton,  had  lent  him  some  assistance  by  imping,  or  mend 
ing,  the  wings  of  his  poesy.  Lodge  was  certainly  a  writer  ten  years 
before  we  hear  of  Drayton,  and  perhaps  the  latter  was  indebted 
to  the  former  for  improvements  introduced  into  his  "  Harmony  of 
the  Church,"  1591,  or  into  his  "  Idea.  The  Shepherds  Garland," 
1593.  Daniel,  who  is  referred  to  in  the  preceding  quatorzain,  had 
(as  we  have  seen,  p.  210)  published  his  "  Delia,"  with  great  ap 
plause,  in  1592.  Spenser's  Pastorals  had  been  before  the  world 
about  fifteen  years,  and  the  first  portion  of  his  "  Fairy  Queen  " 
about  four  years. 

But  a  single  perfect  copy  of  Drayton's  "  Endimion  and  Phoebe  " 


Carlg   ®ngli0I)  Ctterature.  283 

remains  to  us  ;  but  an  exemplar,  wanting  the  title-page,  has  been 
long  in  the  possession  of  the  editor.  It  is  said  in  Lowndes's  Bibl. 
Man.  edit.  1858,  p.  672,  that  "  a  unique  copy  is  in  the  Bridge- 
water  Collection  " :  this  is  a  mistake.  The  error  arose  out  of  the 
fact  that  the  editor  of  the  "  Bridgewater  Catalogue,"  4to,  1837,  men 
tioned  "  Endimion  and  Phoebe  "  only  by  way  of  illustration.  The 
only  copy  he  then  knew  of  was  his  own,  wanting  the  title-page  ; 
but  he  has  since  discovered  another,  which  is  quite  perfect. 
Various  works  are,  in  the  same  manner,  mentioned  in  the  Bridge- 
water  Catalogue  which  were  not,  and  are  not,  in  the  Earl  of 
Ellesmere's  library. 


DRAYTON,  MICHAEL.  —  The  Owle.  By  Michaell  Drayton 
Esquire.  Noctuas  Athenas.  —  London  Printed  by  E.  A. 
for  E.  White  and  N.  Ling,  &c.  1604.  4to.  27  leaves. 

The  author  states,  in  an  address  "  to  the  Header,"  that "  this  small 
poem  was  lastly  finished,"  almost  a  year  before  it  was  printed,  and 
that  it  was  postponed  to  his  gratulatory  effusion  on  the  arrival  of 
King  James.  He  dedicated  it  in  a  sonnet  to  his  "  most  esteemed 
patron  Sir  Walter  Aston,  Knight,"  and  there  refers  to  his  "  Bar 
ons  Wars,"  which  had  already  been  about  ten  years  in  type.  For 
some  reason  not  explained,  "  The  Owl "  was  not  included  in  the 
collection  of  Drayton's  works  which  he  published  in  8vo,  1605,  but 
it  was  inserted  in  the  folio  of  1619,  and  in  all  subsequent  impres 
sions. 

It  appears  by  Sir  David  Murray's  account  of  the  Privy  Purse 
expenses  of  Prince  Henry,  preserved  in  the  Audit  Office,  that 
Drayton  was  an  annuitant  to  the  extent  of  £10  a  year.  The  doc 
ument  applies  to  two  years,  and  Joshua  Sylvester's  annuity  of 
£20  is  entered  for  both  years,  while  Drayton's  is  only  for  one 
year.  Perhaps  his  name  had  only  been  recently  placed  upon  the 
list. 

On  the  title-page  of  "  The  Owl "  is  a  woodcut  representing  that 
bird  surrounded  by  "  chattering  pyes."  It  is  from  end  to  end  a 
satirical  apologue,  and  passages  might  easily  be  pointed  out  that 
possibly  gave  offence.  That  it  was  popular  we  need  not  doubt;  and 


284  Bibliograpljkal  Account  of 

it  is  twice  spoken  of  by  N.  Baxter,  in  his  "  Ourania,"  1606,  (see 
p.  76,)  as  «  Madge  Howlet's  Tale." 

"  And  every  Stationer  hath  now  to  sale 
Pappe  with  a  Hatchet  and  Madge  Howlet's  Tale." 

And  again  afterwards,  — 

"  Learned  Drayton  hath  told  Madgehowlet's  Tale 
In  covert  verse  of  sweetest  madrigale." 

It  certainly  is  "  covert  verse,"  but  in  ten-syllable  couplets,  with 
out  any  lyrics  such  as  madrigals  were  usually  composed  in. 


DRAYTON,  MICHAEL.  —  The  Legend  of  the  Great  Crom- 
wel.  By  Michael  Drayton  Esquier.  —  At  London 
Printed  by  Felix  Kyngston  and  are  to  be  sold  by  I. 
Flasket  &c.  1607.  4to.  25  leaves. 

This  fine  poem  is  gratefully  inscribed  by  its  author  "  to  the  de 
serving  memorie  of  my  worthy  Patron,  Sir  Walter  Aston,  Knight "  ; 
and  the  dedication  is  followed  by  two  pages  of  notes,  which  Dray- 
ton  states  ought  to  have  been  placed  in  the  margin,  had  not  the 
type,  without  his  knowledge,  been  chosen  too  large.  The  last 
of  these  notes  deserves  remark  :  "  The  34.  page  the  1.  stanza, 
Pierce  the  wise  Plowman  &c.  The  morall  of  Contrition  and  the 
Frier,  the  matter  of  which  is  Pierce  Plowmans  in  his  vision,  the 
workmanship  therof  wholly  mine  owne,  containing  about  10. 
stanzas."  It  is  in  fact  substantially  taken,  necessarily  with  much 
alteration  and  considerable  improvement,  from  Passus  Vicesimus 
of  "  Pierce  Plowman's  Vision,"  and  Drayton  has  introduced  it 
with  great  ingenuity  and  good  effect.  All  the  rest  is  the  poet's 
sole  composition,  the  incidents  being  adopted  from  the  history  of 
Cromwell,  Earl  of  Essex,  who  is  made  to  narrate  his  own  life  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  heroes  of  "  The  Mirror  for  Magistrates." 
Prefixed  to  the  "  Legend  "  are  commendatory  lines  by  I.  Cooke, 
Henry  Lucas,  and  Christopher  Brooke. 


€arln  Cnglislj  f  iterator*.  285 

DRATTON,  MICHAEL.  —  Poems  by  Michael  Drayton  Es- 
quyer.  Collected  into  one  Volume.  With  sondry  Peeces 
inserted  never  before  imprinted.  —  London  printed  for 
John  Smethwick.  1619.  fol.  247  leaves. 

There  is  no  date  on  the  general  engraved  title-page  of  the  vol 
ume,  but  each  division  has  a  separate  printed  title,  and  all  are 
dated  1619,  the  year  when  the  collected  impression  of  Dray  ton's 
poems  made  its  appearance.  Nevertheless,  it  does  not  contain  all 
that  Drayton  had  previously  published,  as  he  never  reprinted  the 
whole  of  his  "  Idea's  Mirror,"  4to,  1594,  (a  collection  of  love  son 
nets,)  nor  any  part  of  his  "  Phoebe  and  Endymion,"  excepting  the 
few  lines  inserted  in  u  The  Man  in  the  Moon,"  which  is  the  last 
piece  in  the  volume  before  us.  There  is  little  doubt  that  it  was 
printed  under  the  supervision  of  Drayton.  1 

1  We  may  here  insert  a  copy  of  the  title-page  of  the  unique  volume:  — 
"  Ideas  Mirrour.  Amours  in  Quatorzains.  Che  serve  e  tace  assai  domanda. 
—  At  London,  Printed  hy  James  Koberts  for  Nicholas  Linge.  Anno. 
1594."  4to.  It  consists  of  51  sonnets,  some  of  which  were  afterwards 
reprinted  by  Drayton,  but  many  of  them  never  again  saw  the  light.  The 
second  line  of  the  following  dedicatory  sonnet  to  Anthony  Cooke,  Esq., 
shows  that  the  pieces  included  in  the  volume  had  been  written  some 
time :  — 

"  Vouchsafe  to  grace  these  rude  unpolish'd  rymes, 

Which  long,  dear  friend,  have  slept  in  sable  night, 
And,  come  abroad  now  in  these  glorious  tymes, 

Can  hardly  brooke  the  purenes  of  the  light. 
But  sith  you  see  their  destiny  is  such, 

That  in  the  world  theyr  fortune  they  must  try, 
Perhaps  they  better  shall  abide  the  tuch, 

Wearing  your  name,  theyr  gracious  livery. 
Yet  these  mine  owne  :  I  wrong  not  other  men, 
Nor  trafique  further  then  thys  happy  clyme; 
Nor  filch  from  Fortes,  nor  from  Petrarchs  pen, 

A  fault  too  common  in  thys  latter  tyme. 
Divine  Syr  Phillip !  I  avouch  thy  writ, 
I  am  no  pickpurse  of  anothers  wit." 

The  last  line  is  Sidney's  in  one  of  his  sonnets  in  "Astrophel  and  Stella." 
It  is  not  so  clear  to  whom  Drayton  alludes  when  he  says  that  they  had 
"filched"  from  Desportes  and  Petrarch.  Spenser  had  printed  sonnets 
avowedly  from  Petrarch  and  Bellay.  We  subjoin  Drayton's  last  sonnet 


286  Bibltograpljkal  Account  of 

DRAYTON,  MICHAEL.  —  The  Battaile  of  Agincourt.  Fought 
by  Henry  the  fift  of  that  name,  King  of  England  &c. 
The  Miseries  of  Queene  Margarite  &c.  Nimphidia,  the 
Court  of  Fayrie.  The  Quest  of  Cinthia.  The  Shep- 
heards  Sirena.  The  Moone-Calfe.  Elegies  upon  sundry 
occasions.  By  Michaell  Drayton  Esquire.  —  London, 
Printed  for  William  Lee  &c.  1627.  fol.  116  leaves. 

A  portrait  of  the  author  by  William  Hole  follows  the  title-page, 
and  facing  it  is  Drayton's  Dedication  "  to  the  gentlemen  of  Eng 
land."  "  The  Vision  of  Ben  Jonson  on  the  Muses  of  his  friend 
M.  Drayton  "  introduces  other  complimentary  poems  by  I.  Vaughan 
and  John  Reynolds,  related  perhaps  to  the  Henry  Reynolds  to 
whom  Drayton  addressed  his  Epistle  "  Of  Poets  and  Poesy."  What 
are  called  "  Elegies  upon  Sundry  Occasions,"  which  close  the  vol 
ume,  are  in  fact,  with  a  few  exceptions,  merely  epistles.  Only  five 
can  be  termed  "  elegies,"  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word. 


DROUT,  JOHN.  —  The  pityfull  Historic  of  two  louing  Ital 
ians,  Gaulfrido  and  Barnardo  le  vayne :  which  ariued  in 

in  this  "  Amours  in  Quatorzains,"  chiefly  because  he  ever  afterwards  ex 
cluded  it  from  his  collected  works :  — 

"  Go  you,  my  lynes,  Embassadors  of  love, 

With  my  harts  trybute  to  her  conquering  eyes, 
from  whence  if  you  one  teare  of  pitty  move 

For  all  my  woes,  that  onely  shall  suffise. 
When  you  Minerva  in  the  sunne  behold, 

At  her  perfections  stand  you  then  and  gaze, 
Where  in  the  compasse  of  a  Mary  gold, 

Meridianis  sits  within  a  maze. 
And  let  Invention  of  her  beauty  vaunt 

When  Dorus  sings  his  sweet  Pamelas  love, 
And  tell  the  Gods  Mars  is  predominant, 

Seated  with  Sol,  and  weares  Minervas  glove  : 
And  tell  the  world  that  in  the  world  there  is 
A  heaven  on  earth,  on  earth  no  heaven  but  this." 

This  is  not  now  very  intelligible ;  but,  of  course,  Dorus  and  Pamela  are 
two  of  the  characters  in  Sidney's  "  Arcadia." 


(Earlt)  (Englislj  literature.  287 

the  countrey  of  Grece,  in  the  time  of  the  noble  Em- 
peroure  Vaspasian.  And  translated  out  of  Italian  into 
Englishe  meeter  by  Ihon  Drout,  of  Thauis  Inne  Gentle 
man.  Anno  1570.  —  Imprinted  at  London  by  Henry 
Binneman,  dwelling  in  Knightrider  streete,  at  the  signe 
of  the  Mermayde.  8vo.  B.  L.  32  leaves. 

This  is  a  new,  and  not  very  euphonious,  name  to  be  added  to  the 
list  of  our  early  English  versifiers.  The  poem  has  only  compara 
tively  recently  been  discovered,  and  it  has  not  been  noticed  by 
any  bibliographer.  Malone,  in  a  note  upon  "  Romeo  and  Juliet," 
(Shaksp.  by  Bosw.  VI.  4,)  speaks  of  the  entry  of  it  at  Stationers' 
Hall  in  1570,  adding,  "I  suspect  that  it  was  a  prose  narrative  of 
the  story  on  which  our  author's  play  was  constructed."  He  was 
wrong  in  both  conjectures ;  for  it  is  not  prose,  and  it  has  not  the 
remotest  connection  with  the  incidents  of  "  Romeo  and  Juliet." 

It  was  mentioned,  however,  in  connection  with  "  Romeo  and 
Juliet"  in  the  earliest  instance  in  which  it  is  alluded  to.  We  refer 
to  that  remarkable  collection,  published  by  I.  C.,  called  "A  poore 
Knight  his  Pallace  of  private  Pleasures,"  1579,  where,  on  sign.  Bii 
b,  we  meet  with  the  following  lines  :  — 

"  Verona  path  we  lefte,  where  Eomeus  doth  lye, 
Where  Juliet  with  Iconia  injoy  a  place  thereby: 
Gaulfrido  lyeth  in  Venis,  Barnardo  doth  the  same, 
And  the  Arestons  only  child  which  Gnosia  hath  to  name." 

This  quotation  shows  that  the  tale  had  attracted  attention  not 
very  long  after  its  publication  by  Drout.  Of  him  we  know  abso 
lutely  nothing ;  but  we  may  speculate,  in  the  irregular  spelling 
of  names  at  that  period,  that  he  was  descended  from  the  John 
Droyt  who  in  the  household-book  20  and  21  Henry  VIII.  is  enu 
merated  as  one  of  the  minstrels  attending  upon  the  court,  who 
were  each  paid  40s.  quarterly.  Yet  at  the  end  of  the  piece  in 
hand  we  read,  "  Finis  qd  lohn  Grout  Gent.,"  which  may  lead  to 
the  belief  that  the  author's  name  was  really  Grout,  and  not 
Drout. 

Four  introductory  copies  of  verses,  by  W.  W.,  R.  W.,  T.  F.,  and 
T.  Smith,  afford  no  personal  information,  but  Drout  himself,  (for 


288  Bibliographical  Tlaount  of 

so  we  shall  spell  his  name,)  in  a  prose  "  Preface  to  the  Reader," 
speaks  of  his  contemporary  Underdowne,  who,  we  know,  was  the 
writer  of  a  poem  on  "  Theseus  and  Ariadne,"  in  1566,  and  who 
we  gather  was  also  the  author  of  some  work  upon  the  friendships 
of  Titus  and  Gesyppus,  Orestes  and  Pylades,  &c.  The  title-page 
before  us  states  that  "  Gaulfrido  and  Barnardo  "  was  a  translation 
from  the  Italian  ;  and  the  use  there  of  the  word  "  arrived  "  for 
happened,  and  other  circumstances,  may  strengthen  our  belief  of 
the  fact ;  but  we  are  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  any  foreign 
original  for  the  few  incidents  of  the  story,  in  the  course  of  which, 
when  speeches  occur,  they  are  marked,  as  in  a  play,  by  prefixes. 
This  is  unusual  in  narrative  poems ;  but  when  Achelley  printed 
his  "  Didaco  and  Violerita  "  in  1576,  (see  p.  5,)  he  followed  the 
precedent.  Drout  concludes  his  prose  preface  by  this  couplet :  — 

"  Reade  ere  thou  judge,  then  judge  thy  fill, 
But  judge  the  best,  and  mende  the  yll." 

This  "  pitifull  History  "  is  sad  indeed,  for  no  person  concerned  in 
it  escapes  death ;  even  the  mariners  of  a  ship  that  conveyed  one 
of  the  two  heroes  are  all  drowned,  while  the  rival  friends,  Gaul 
frido  and  Barnardo,  the  lady  they  are  in  love  with,  as  well  as  her 
father  and  mother,  all  come  to  untimely  ends.  Nobody  survives. 
The  tale,  as  far  as  a  trial  for  murder  is  concerned,  reminds  us  of 
the  incidents  of  Titus  and  Gesyppus,  and  some  parts  of  it  are 
not  badly  told  ;  but  the  conclusion,  and  the  annihilation  of  all 
parties,  no  matter  how  remotely  connected,  is  nothing  short  of 
ridiculous.  The  two  friends  Gaulfrido  and  Barnardo,  who  had 
been  unexpectedly  parted,  meet  again  as  unexpectedly,  and  one 
of  them,  on  an  early  page,  thus  narrates  the  grief  he  had  expe 
rienced  at  the  separation  :  — 

"  Thus  would  I  vewe,  and  dayly  thinke 

that  thou  wouldst  after  hye. 
Now  would  I  thinke  unto  my  selfe 

thy  shippe  for  to  espye; 
But  all  for  nought:  the  longer  I  * 

did  gaze  in  open  ayre, 
The  farder  still  thou  wast  from  me, 

so  much  the  more  my  care. 
When  as  I  had  in  memorie 

our  parents  that  be  dead, 


(frarlu  (Engltslj  Cttcratnrc.  289 

Our  mothers  kind  which  pampered  us, 

and  long  ago  had  fed 
Both  thee  and  me  with  milke  so  sweete, 

then  was  I  like  a  stone ; 
Then  was  my  hart  even  like  to  burst, 

my  senses  they  were  gone." 

Drout  observes  no  poetical  propriety  in  the  telling  of  his  story, 
and  mixes  up  the  most  incongruous  materials  and  absurd  images. 
The  following  is  worth  quoting,  as  it  gives  a  glimpse  of  the  man 
ners  of  the  time,  where  a  party  begin  to  dance :  — 

"  The  minstrell  he  was  called  in 

some  pretty  jest  to  play; 
Then  Robin  hood  was  called  for, 

and  Malkin  ere  they  went, 
But  Barnard  ever  to  the  mayde 

a  loving  looke  he  lent; 
And  he  would  very  fayne  have  daunst 

with  hir,  if  that  he  durst : 
As  he  was  offering,  Galfryd  caught 

hir  by  the  hand  at  furst."  &c. 

It  was  this  dance  that  led  to  the  catastrophe.  Gauffrido  being 
successful  with  the  lady,  Barnardo  kills  himself,  and  Gaulfrido, 
finding  his  friend's  dead  body,  stabs  himself  with  the  same  sword. 
Charina,  beloved  by  them  both,  follows  the  double  example,  and 
her  parents  seem  to  think  that  they  can  do  no  less.  After  "  Finis 
qd  John  Grout,  gent."  comes  the  following  epilogue  to  the  whole 
subject,  which,  as  we  have  explained,  has  been  somewhat  dramat 
ically  treated :  — 

"  These  will  bee  had  in  memorie 

of  all  that  have  them  scene. 
Now  they  be  dead,  let  all  men  say 

God  save  our  noble  Queene: 
That  she  may  vanquishe  traytors  all 

whiche  seeketh  hir  decay; 
The  good  and  godly  so  I  knowe 

continually  will  pray." 

The  recent  execution  of  Felton,  the  Nortons,  &c.,  is  here,  no 
doubt,  referred  to,  and  the  words  "  now  they  be  dead  "  must  relate 

VOL.  I.  19 


290  Bibliographical  Account  of 

to  them,  and  not  to  the  characters  engaged  in  the  story.  There 
seems  no  particular  reason  why  the  Queen  should  be  prayed  for, 
in  consequence  of  the  slaughter  of  Gaulfrido,  Barnardo,  Charina, 
Tisbine  her  father,  her  mother,  and  all  the  innocent  mariners. 


DRUMMOND,  WILLIAM.  —  Forth  Feasting.  A  Panegyricke 
to  the  Kings  most  excellent  Majestic.  Flumina  sen- 
serunt  ipsa.  —  Edinburgh,  Printed  by  Andro  Hart, 
1617.  4to.  8  leaves. 

This  is  an  anonymous  publication  by  W.  Drummond  of  Haw- 
thornden,  afterwards  included  in  his  works  ;  but  in  the  sale  cat 
alogues  of  various  periods  we  only  find  a  single  trace  of  it.  Heber 
had  no  copy. 

It  is  a  favorable  specimen  of  the  versification,  rather  than  of 
the  genius,  of  Drummond,  for  the  images,  like  the  general  sub 
ject,  are  violent,  and  it  opens  with  one  of  the  most  extravagant, 
where  the  poet  supposes  the  mountains  to  stand  on  tiptoe  to  wit 
ness  the  arrival  of  James  I.  in  Scotland.  The  Forth  speaks :  — 

"  What  blustring  noise  now  interrupts  my  sleepe  ? 
What  echoing  shouts  thus  cleave  my  chrystal  Deep, 
And  call  mee  hence  out  of  my  watrie  Court? 
What  melodie  ?  what  sounds  of  joye  and  sport 
Be  these  heere  hurl'd  from  ev'rie  neighbour  Spring? 
With  what  lowd  rumours  do  the  Mountaines  ring, 
Which  in  unusuall  porape  on  tip-toes  stand, 
And  (full  of  wonder)  over-looke  the  land? " 

For  the  mountains  to  stand  on  tiptoe  on  the  occasion  was  cer 
tainly  very  "  unusual  pomp."  The  Forth  afterwards  addresses 
the  King  in  these  commonplaces  of  poetry  :  — 

"  To  virgins  flowrs,  to  sun-burnt  Earth  the  raine, 
To  mariners  faire  winds  amidst  the  maine ; 
Coole  shades  to  pilgrimes,  which  hote  glances  burne, 
Please  not  so  much,  to  us  as  thy  returne." 

The  following  ends  with  an  absurd  and  impious  piece  of  flat 
tery  :  — 


(ffnjltslj  Citerotare.  291 

"  Eye  of  our  westerne  world,  Mars-daunting  king, 
With  whose  renowne  the  Earths  seven  climats  ring, 
Thy  deeds  not  only  claime  these  Diademes 
To  which  Thame,  Liffy,  Taye  subject  their  streames, 
But  to  thy  Vertues  rare,  and  gifts  is  due 
All  that  the  Planet  of  the  yeare  doth  view: 
Sure,  if  the  world  above  did  want  a  Prince, 
The  World  above  to  it  would  take  thee  hence." 

Afterwards  the  poem  proceeds  better  and  more  naturally  :  — 

"  Ah !  why  should  Isis  onlie  see  Thee  shine  ? 
Is  not  thy  Forth,  as  well  as  Isis,  thine  ? 
Though  Isis  vaunt  shee  hath  more  wealth  in  store, 
Let  it  suffice  thy  Forth  doth  love  thee  more. 
Though  shee  for  beautie  may  compare  with  Seine, 
For  swannes  and  Sea-Nymphs  with  Imperiall  Rhene, 
Yet  in  the  title  may  bee  claim'd  in  Thee, 
Nor  shee,  nor  all  the  world  can  match  with  mee." 

It  concludes  with  some  of  the  most  pleasing  lines  in  the  tract : 

"  0 !  love  these  bounds,  whereof  thy  royall  Stemme 
More  than  an  hundreth  were  a  Diademe. 
So  ever  gold  and  bayes  thy  browes  adorne, 
So  never  Time  may  see  thy  race  out-worne ; 
So  of  thine  owne  still  mayst  Thou  bee  desir'd, 
Of  Strangers  fear'd,  redoubted,  and  admir'd : 
So  Memorie  the  praise,  so  pretious  Houres 
May  character  thy  name  in  starrie  flowres ; 
So  may  thy  high  exployts  at  last  make  even 
With  Earth  thy  empire,  Glorie  with  the  Heaven." 

We  may  doubt  whether  we  ought  not  to  read  above  "  So  Mem 
orie  thy  praise  " :  if  not,  the  line  is  hardly  intelligible.  This  is 
the  poem  which  Ben  Jonson  told  Drummond,  for  the  sake  of 
pleasing  King  James,  he  wished  he  had  written,  —  "  yett  that  he 
wished,  to  please  the  King,  that  piece  of  Forth  Feasting  had  been 
his  owne."— Conv.  with  Drummond,  (Shaksp.  Soc.  edition,  by 
D.  Laing,  1842,)  p.  7. 

The  copy  we  have  used  is  the  more  interesting  because  it  has 
the  author's  autograph  at  the  end.  Perhaps  it  was  a  gift  to  some 
friend  —  not  to  Ben  Jonson,  or  he  would  also  have  placed  his 
name  upon  it. 


292  Bibliographical  2laotmt  of 

DYER,  SIR  EDWARD.  —  Sixe  Idillia,  that  is  Sixe  small,  or 
petty  Poems,  or  ^Eglogues,  chosen  of  the  right  famous 
Sicilian  Poet  Theocritus,  and  translated  into  English 
verse.  Dum  defluat  amnis.  —  Printed  at  Oxford  by  Jo 
seph  Barnes.  1588.  4to.  8  leaves. 

This  work,  though  unquestionably  by  Sir  Edward  Dyer,  has 
never  been  mentioned  by  any  bibliographer,  nor  does  it  appear 
to  have  been  known  to  any  poetical  antiquary.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  a  prose  production,  no  doubt  also  by  Dyer,  published 
three  years  earlier  under  the  title  of  "  The  Prayse  of  Nothing," 
which  came  from  the  press  of  Hugh  Jackson.  Of  each  only  a 
single  copy  remains  to  us.  Edward  Dyer,  who  was  not  knighted 
until  1596,  was  born  at  Sharpham  Park,  Somersetshire,  but  the 
year  is  not  recorded  in  the  registers  of  the  parish.  The  date  of 
his  death,  at  a  very  advanced  age,  has  not  hitherto  been  ascer 
tained,  but  we  give  it  from  the  register  of  St.  Saviours,  South- 
wark,  in  the  following  terms  :  — 

"  11  May  1607.     Sr.  Edward  Dyer,  Knight,  buried 
in  the  Chancell  Ground  —  xxvj8  viijd." 

A  search  in  the  Prerogative  Office  has  not  procured  his  will,  or  any 
copy  of  it ;  but  we  learn  from  the  original  records  formerly  pre 
served  in  the  Chapter  House,  Westminster,  that  in  9  Jac.  1,  Cath 
erine  Dyer,  his  widow,  commenced  a  suit  in  the  Court  of  Requests 
against  John  Earl  of  Mar  to  enforce  the  payment  of  a  rent-charge 
of  £100  per  annum  upon  the  Manors  of  Middlegowey  and 
Othery,  in  Somersetshire,  granted  to  her  by  her  late  husband,  Sir 
Edward  Dyer.  The  result  does  not  appear  among  the  Decrees 
and  Orders.  In  1598,  as  we  learn  from  the  Token-books  of  St. 
Saviours,  Sir  E.  Dyer  lived  in  Winchester  House,  and  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  giving  a  buck  annually  to  the  church-wardens.  He 
was  made  Chancellor  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter  in  the  year  he 
was  knighted  (1596),  and  in  his  official  capacity,  on  7th  May, 
1598,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  (preserved 
at  Lambeth)  on  the  subject  of  the  Feast  of  which  his  lordship  was 


tj  <£nglt01j  Citeratuw.  293 

Lieutenant.1  He  never  published  anything  that  bore  more  than 
his  initials,  which,  as  M.  D.  (t.  e.  Master  Dyer),  are  inserted  at  the 
end  of  a  poem  in  "  The  Paradise  of  Dainty  Devices,"  1576.  In 
1582  a  collection  of  Italian  Proverbs,  &c.  was  dedicated  to  him  by 
John  Florio,  but  we  believe  they  were  not  printed,  (Sale  of  Bright's 
MSS.  June,  1844  ;)  and  in  February  1583,  according  to  a  letter 
from  N.  Fant  to  Anthony  Bacon,  Dyer  returned  to  England  from 
a  mission  with  which  he  had  been  charged  to  the  Low  Countries. 
In  1585  he  wrote  and  printed  his  "  Prayse  of  Nothing,"  a  speci 
men  of  paradoxical  playfulness,  and  it  was  followed  by  the  work 
the  title  of  which  stands  at  the  head  of  the  present  article.  His 
initials  are  given  in  the  following  form  at  the  back  of  the  title- 
page. 

"E.  D. 

Libenter  hie  et  omnis  exantlabitur 

Labor,  in  tuaa  ppem,  gratiae." 

Although  Dyer  was  one  of  those  who,  with  Spenser,  Sidney,  and 

1  As  Dyer's  autographs  are  very  rare,  we  quote  the  hitherto  unprinted 
letter:  — 

"  Right  honorable.  It  is  the  office  off  the  Register  to  register  those  actes  which 
this  last  feast,  and  since,  have  been  or  shall  be  doon.  And  I  doubt  me,  under  your 
L.  correction,  whether  the  tyme  of  your  L.  Lieutenancie  be  quyte  expired,  or  no  ; 
bicause  the  woords  of  the  Commission  ar  but  for  three  dayes  — that  is  the  xxij, 
xxiij  and  xxiiij  dayes  of  this  present  moneth,  and  only  for  the  celebrating  of  the 
ceremonies  during  that  tyme.  Therfore  I  thinke  your  L.  may  well  cast  off  the  care 
off  such  enregistering,  as  belonging  to  the  Dean  of  Wyndsore  properly.  Neverthe- 
les,  iff  it  please  your  L.  to  have  me  send  in  your  L.  name,  I  am  at  commandmt  in 
this,  and  in  all  the  services  that  I  can  performe. 

"  The  vij  off  Maye  98.  EDWARD  DYER." 

The  above  is  from  Lambeth  MS.  No.  706.  On  1st  May,  1598,  according 
to  Stow,  (edit.  1605,  p.  1307,)  the  ambassadors  had  returned  from  France. 
We  apprehend  that  Sir  Edward's  father  was  Sir  James  Dyer,  the  cele 
brated  judge  who  died  in  1582,  and  of  whom  the  following  anecdote  is 
told  in  MS.  Harl.  5353:  —  "  Upon  a  time,  when  the  late  Lord  Treasurer, 
Sir  William  Cecil,  came  before  Justice  Dyer  in  the  Common  Pleas,  with 
his  rapier  by  his  side,  the  Justice  told  him  that  he  must  lay  aside  his  long 
pen-knife,  if  he  would  come  into  that  Court.  This  speech  was  free,  and 
the  sharper  because  Sir  William  was  then  Secretary." 

By  a  letter  from  N.  Faunt,  also  preserved  at  Lambeth  (MS.  647),  it 
appears  that  on  28th  Feb.  1583,  Sir  E.  Dyer  "  had  returned  from  his  em 
ployment  in  the  Low  Countries." 


294  Bibliographical  Account  of 

Gabriel  Harvey,  in  1580  and  1581,  endeavored  to  introduce  the 
classic  metres  into  English,  and  although  in  1585  he  printed  a 
specimen  (one  of  the  very  earliest  in  our  language)  of  undramatic 
blank-verse  in  his  "Prayse  of  Nothing,"  he  translated  these 
"  Idillia"  of  Theocritus  in  rhyme.  They  are  the  8th,  llth,  16th, 
18th,  21st,  and  31st  Idyls,  and  in  various  measures.  The  fol 
lowing,  in  twelve-syllable  lines,  concludes  the  first  Idyl  in  the 
volume :  — 

"  0  Daphnis,  what  a  dulcet  mouth  and  voice  thou  hast ! 

'Tis  sweeter  thee  to  heare  than  honie-corabes  to  tast. 

Take  thee  these  pipes,  for  thou  in  singing  dost  excell. 

If  me,  a  Goatehearde,  thou  wilt  teach  to  sing  so  well, 

This  broken  horned  Goate  on  thee  bestow  I  will, 

Which  to  the  verie  brimm  the  paile  doth  ever  fill. 
So  then  was  Daphnis  glad,  and  lept  and  clapt  his  handes, 

And  danst  as  doth  a  fawne  when  by  the  damm  he  standes. 

Menalcas  greev'd,  the  thing  his  mind  did  much  dismaie, 

And  sad  as  Bride  he  was  upon  the  mariage  daie. 

Since  then  among  the  Shepeheardes  Daphnis  chiefe  was  had, 

And  tooke  a  Nimphe  to  wife,  when  he  was  but  a  lad." 

The  second  Idyl  in  the  volume  (the  llth  of  Theocritus)  opens 
thus  jiggingly :  — 

"  0  Nicias,  there  is  no  other  remedie  for  love, 
With  ointing  or  with  sprinkling  on,  that  ever  I  could  prove, 
Beside  the  Muses  nine:  this  pleasant  medsun  of  the  minde 
Growes  among  men,  and  seems  but  lite,  yet  verie  hard  to  finde." 

In  the  last  Idyl  Dyer  again  varies  to  six-syllable  lines,  rhyming 
in  couplets,  a  measure  that  afterwards,  for  lyrical  pieces,  became 
somewhat  popular,  having  been  adopted  by  Shakspeare  ;  and  it  is 
devoted  to  the  fable  of  Venus  and  Adonis,  a  subject  our  great 
dramatist  also  adopted,  but  in  a  totally  different  form  and  man 
ner.  Dyer  gives  it  thus :  — 

"  When  Venus  first  did  see 
Adonis  dead  to  be, 
With  woeful  tatter' d  heare, 
And  cheekes  so  wan  and  seare, 
The  winged  Loves  she  bad 
The  Bore  should  straight  be  had. 
Forthwith  like  birdes  thay  flie, 


€arlg  €ngltslj  Cittratar*.  295 

And  through  the  wood  thay  hie. 
The  woefull  beast  they  finde, 
And  him  with  cordes  thay  binde." 

The  Boar  is  accused  and  accurst  by  Venus,  but  he  excuses 
himself  by  asserting  that  he  only  wished  to  kiss  and  not  to  wound 
Adonis.  He  calls  upon  Venus  to  deprive  him  of  his  offending 
tusks,  and  here  we  meet  with  an  unusual  triplet. 

"  Wherfore  these  teeth,  Venus, 
Or  punish  or  cut  out. 
Why  beare  I  in  my  snowt 
These  needless  teeth  about? 
If  this  may  not  suffice, 
Cut  off  my  chaps  likewise." 

"  Snowt "  and  "  chaps "  are  not  very  well-sounding  words  in 
English  poetry,  and  Dyer  might  easily  have  avoided  them  had  he 
wished  it.  The  piece,  which  consists  of  only  forty-seven  lines, 
concludes  thus :  — 

"  To  ruth  he  Venus  moves, 

And  she  commands  the  Loves 

His  bands  for  to  untie. 

After  he  came  not  me 

The  wood,  but  at  her  wil 

He  followde  Venus  still, 

And  cumming  to  the  fire, 

He  burnt  up  his  desire." 

"  With  desire  "  would  perhaps  be  more  intelligible.  We  may 
add  that  the  specimen  of  undramatic  blank-verse  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  in  Dyer's  "  Prayse  of  Nothing,"  is  not  in  the  usual  ten- 
syllable  iambics,  afterwards  constantly  employed,  but  only  differs 
from  twelve-syllable  rhymes  in  not  having  the  jingle.  It  was, 
however,  a  novelty  in  its  way  in  1585,  and  on  this  account  it 
principally  merits  notice.  It  is  a  version  of  a  small  part  of 
Petrarch's  u  Triumph  of  Death,"  and  reads  more  like  plain  prose 
than  measured  verse. 


296  Bibliographical  Account  of 

EAST  INDIES.  —  The  Journal,  or  Dayly  Register,  contayn- 
ing  a  true  manifestation,  and  Historical!  declaration  of 
the  voyage,  accomplished  by  eight  shippes  of  Amster 
dam,  under  the  conduct  of  Jacob  Corneliszen  Neck  Ad- 
mirall,  and  Wybrandt  van  Warwick  Vice-Admirall, 
which  sayled  from  Amsterdam  the  first  day  of  March, 
1598.  Shewing  the  course  they  kept,  and  what  other 
notable  matters  happened  unto  them  in  the  sayd  voyage. 
— Imprinted  at  London  for  Cuthbert  Burby  and  John 
Flasket :  And  are  to  be  sold  at  the  Royall  Exchange, 
and  at  the  signe  of  the  black  beare  in  Paules  Church 
yard.  1601.  4to.  B.L.  63  leaves. 

This  tract  is  principally  curious  from  its  rarity,  for  the  details 
of  the  voyage  of  these  Dutch  ships  present  few  incidents  of 
interest.  The  title-page  has  a  woodcut  of  a  ship  in  full  sail  (the 
stern  towards  the  spectator)  with  the  wind,  represented  by  a  face 
in  the  clouds,  blowing  strongly.  "  The  Journal"  commences  im 
mediately  afterwards ;  and  it  is,  at  £he  beginning,  more  in  the 
form  of  the  log-book  of  a  ship  than  anything  else.  As  we  proceed, 
the  information  is  more  general,  and  on  fol.  5  b.  we  have  "  a 
description  of  the  Island  de  Cerne,  which  was  now  named  Mauri 
tius,  lying  21  degrees  to  the  South  of  the  Equinoctiall  line  "  ; 
from  whence  we  gather  that  these  visitors  were  the  first  to  give 
the  island  De  Cerne  the  name  of  Mauritius.  Afterwards  we  have 
descriptions  of  the  town  of  Tuban  in  Java  Major,  of  the  island 
of  Amboyna,  of  the  islands  of  Banda,  Ternate,  &c. ;  but  the 
most  remarkable  portion  of  the  pamphlet  is  the  early  Malay 
vocabulary  it  furnishes,  which  is  thus  introduced  :  — 

"  Some  words  of  the  Malish  speech,  which  language  is  used  throughout 
the  East  Indies,  as  French  is  in  our  countrie,  wherewith  a  man  may 
travell  over  all  the  land." 

Taking  this  literally,  it  serves  to  show  how  common  a  medium 
of  communication  French  was  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Eliza 
beth.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  tract  was  translated  from  the 
Dutch,  but  it  may  have  been  so.  The  whole  of  the  information 


(farlg  (Engltslj  Ctterature.  297 

seems  to  be  minute  and  authentic,  making  allowance  for  the 
simplicity  and  ignorance  of  some  of  the  sailors  and  natives  from 
whom  it  was  derived.  We  are  told,  among  other  things,  that  the 
island  of  Cerne  was  uninhabited,  and  that  the  birds  upon  it  were 
so  unused  to  the  sight  of  men,  or  to  expect  injury  from  them, 
that  the  crews  caught,  and  knocked  down  with  their  hands,  as 
many  as  they  liked. 


EDWARDS,  RICHARD.— The  Paradyse  of  daynty  deuises. 
Conteyning  sundry  pithy  preceptes,  learned  Counsels, 
and  excellent  inuentions,  right  pleasant  and  profitable 
for  all  estates.  Deuised  and  written  for  the  most  part, 
by  M.  Edwardes,  sometimes  of  her  Maiesties  Chappell : 
the  rest,  by  sundry  learned  Gentlemen,  both  of  honor, 
and  worship,  whose  names  hereafter  folowe.  —  Imprinted 
at  London,  by  Henry  Disle,  dwelling  in  Paules  Church 
yard,  at  the  Southwest  doore  of  Saint  Paules  Church, 
and  are  there  to  be  solde.  1578.  4to.  B.L. 

That  in  our  hands  is  the  only  known  copy  of  this  edition  of  a 
highly  popular  and  valuable  miscellany.  By  the  following  enumer 
ation  of  the  various  impressions  it  appears  to  have  been  the 
third— viz.,  1576,1577,  1578,1580,  1585,  1596,  and  1600.  There 
was  also  an  edition,  "printed  by  Edward  Allde  for  Edward 
White,"  without  date,  but  probably  between  1596  and  1600. 

The  edition  of  1578  is  especially  interesting,  not  merely  on 
account  of  its  rarity,  but  because  it  contains  some  poems  not  in 
any  other  impression,  earlier  or  later,  because  it  includes  others 
for  the  first  time  inserted  in  the  work,  and  because  it  ascribes 
several  pieces  to  authors  to  whom  they  were  not  before  imputed. 
It  is  to  be  lamented,  therefore,  that  it  wants  one  leaf,  or  possibly 
two  leaves,  at  the  end.  In  its  present  state  it  has  40  leaves,  of 
course  including  the  title.  The  names  of  the  contributors,  which 
we  are  told  on  the  title-page  "hereafter  follow,"  are  thus  in 
serted  at  the  back  of  it,  with  the  arms  of  Lord  Compton  (to 


298  Uibltograpfjkal  2Uconnt  of 

whom  H[enry]  D[isle],  the  publisher,  dedicates  the  work)  above 
them :  — 

(  "  Saint  Barnard              \  f    "  lasper  Hay  wood  \ 

}  E.G.                            f  IF.  Kindleraarsh   f 

)  Lord  Vaux,  the  elder  i  J      D.  Sand                I 

'  W.  Hunis                     )  '      M.  Yloop."           ) 

When  the  reprint  of  the  "  Paradise  of  Dainty  Devices"  was 
made  in  1810,  Haslewood  had  seen,  and  only  seen,  (as  he  himself 
states,)  the  edition  of  1578,  of  which,  however,  he  professes  to  give 
the  title-page,  but  with  various  errors,  no  doubt  from  haste  in 
transcription.  His  note  upon  it  is  as  follows: — "  The  above  is 
the  title  of  edition  1578,  with  the  sight  of  which  I  have  been 
favoured.  Subsequent  collation  may  enable  me  hereafter  to  give 
a  more  minute  account  of  its  contents  ;  at  present,  I  can  only 
undertake  to  say,  that  it  appears  to  vary  from  all  other  editions, 
and  to  contain  a  poem  by  George  Whetstone  no  where  else  to  be 
met  with."  This  note  refers  to  the  very  copy  now  before  us, 
which  we  proceed  to  describe. 

The  dedication  is  the  same  in  the  impression  of  1578  as  in 
those  of  1576  and  1577;  and  there  the  printer  speaks  of  Edwards 
as  having  "  not  long  since  departed  this  life."  The  precise  year 
of  his  death  is  nowhere  stated ;  but  Barnabe  Googe,  in  his  lines 
"  Of  Edwardes  of  the  Chappell,"  printed  in  his  most  rare  volume, 
"  Eglogs,  Epitaphes  and  Sonettes,"  1563,  (see  post,)  speaks  of 
him  as  then  living,  and  we  know  that  he  attended  Queen  Eliza 
beth  on  her  visit  to  Oxford  in  1566,  as  a  gentleman  of  the  Chapel 
Royal,  and  master  of  the  singing-boys  belonging  to  it.  We  do 
not  recollect  to  have  seen  Googe's  verses  anywhere  quoted,  and 
they  are  not  even  referred  to  by  Haslewood,  or  by  his  coadjutor, 
Sir  Egerton  Brydges.  We  insert  them  in  connection  with  the 
biography  of  a  distinguished  poet  and  dramatist :  — 

"  Of  Edwardes  of  the  Chappell. 
"  Devyne  Camenes,  that  with  your  sacred  food 
Have  fed  and  fosterde  up  from  tender  yeares 
A  happye  man,  that  in  your  favour  stoode, 
Edwardes,  in  Courte  that  can  not  fynde  his  feares, 
Your  names  be  blest,  that  in  the  present  age 
So  fyne  a  head  by  Arte  have  framed  out, 


i01j  fitcraturr.  299 

Whom  some  hereafter,  healpt  by  Poets  rage, 
Perchaunce  may  matche,  but  none  shall  passe  (I  doubt). 

0  Plautus !  yf  thou  wert  alyve  agayne, 
That  Comedies  so  fynely  dydste  endyte; 

Or  Terence  thou,  that  with  thy  plesaunt  brayne 

The  hearers  mynde  on  stage  dydst  much  delyght, 

What  would  you  say,  syrs,  if  you  should  beholde, 

As  I  have  done,  the  doyngs  of  this  man  ? 

No  worde  at  all,  to  sweare  I  durst  be  bolde, 

But  burne  with  teares  that  which  with  myrth  began ; 

1  meane  your  bookes,  by  which  you  gate  your  name 
To  be  forgot,  you  wolde  commit  to  flame. 

Alas !  I  wolde,  Edwards,  more  tell  thy  prayse, 
But  at  thy  name  my  muse  amased  stayes." 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  Edwards  was  dead  when  Turberville 
printed  his  "Epitaphs,  Epigrams,  Songs  and  Sonnets  "in  1567,1 
because  that  author  has  an  Epitaph  upon  him  ;  2  and  in  the  same 
volume  is  another  poem,  subscribed  "  Tho.  Twine,"  (the  finisher 
of  Phaer's  translation  of  Virgil,)  which  is  of  more  value,  inasmuch 
as  it  touches  some  points  of  the  biography  of  Edwards,  and 
mentions  two  of  his  dramas,  "  Damon  and  Pythias  "  and  "  Pala- 
mon  and  Arcite,"  by  name.  From  the  following  passage  in  it  we 
may  conclude  that  Edwards  died  in  London :  — 

"  His  death  not  I,  but  all 

good  gentle  harts  doe  mone : 
0  London !  though  thy  grief  be  great, 
thou  didst  not  mourne  alone." 

Anthony  Wood  informs  us  (Ath.  Oxon.  edit.  Bliss,  I.  353) 
that  Edwards  was  first  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  and  afterwards 
of  Christ  Church;  and  this  is  confirmed  by  Twine,  who  ex 
claims,  — 

"  0  happie  House !  0  place 

of  Corpus  Christi,  thou 
That  plantedst  first,  &  gavste  the  roote 

to  that  so  brave  a  bowe ; 
And  Christ  Church  which  enjoydste 

the  fruite  more  ripe  at  fill, 

1  There  was  also  an  edition  in  1570. 

2  See  Vol.  IV.,  article  TURBERVILLE,  GEORGE. 


300  JJtbltograpIjical  Account  of 

Plunge  up  a  thousand  sighes,  for  griefe 
your  trickling  teares  distill,"  &c. 

The  subsequent  mention  of  his  two  dramas  also  deserves  re 
mark,  coming,  as  it  does,  from  a  contemporary  :  — 

"  Thy  tender  Tunes  and  Rimes, 

wherein  thou  woonst  to  play, 
Eche  princely  Dame  of  Court  &  Towne 

shall  beare  in  minde  alway. 
Thy  Damon  and  his  Friend, 

Arcyte  and  Palemon, 
With  moe  full  fit  for  Princes  eares, 
though  thou  from  earth  art  gone, 
Shall  still  remain  in  fame,"  fee- 
Its  printer  informs  us  that  the  poems  in   "  The  Paradise  of 
Dainty  Devices "  were  u  penned  by  divers  learned  Gentlemen, 
and  collected  togeather  through  the  travell  "  of  Edwards  ;  who 
has  various  poems  of  his  own  in  the  volume,  more  (according  to 
the  copy  in  our  hands)  than  have  been  hitherto  ascribed  to  him. 
Thus,  "  The  historic  of  Datnacles  and   Dionise,"  "  A  yong  man 
of  JEgipt  and  Valerian,"  "  Zeleuch  and  his  sonne,"  which  are 
anonymous  in  other  impressions,  are  assigned  to  him  at  length  in 
the  edition  of  1578.     The  following  couplet,  in  reply  to  W.  H.'s 
lines  headed  "  The  fruites  of  fained  frendes,"  is  also  attributed 
to  him,  and  is  omitted  in  other  copies  of  the  work.    They  stand 
thus  :  — 

u  If  suche  false  Shippes  doe  haunte  the  shore, 
Strike  doune  the  saile  and  trust  no  more 

M.  Edwardes." 

Again,  the  poem  "  Being  importunate,  at  the  length,  he  ob- 
taineth,"  on  the  same  authority,  is  the  property  of  Edwards,  and 
not  of  M.  B.,  to  whom  it  had  been  given  in  1576  and  1577.  In 
the  impression  of  1578  it  bears  this  title,  "  A  Dialogue  betwene  a 
Gentleman  and  his  Love."  How  far  these  ascriptions  are  to  be 
relied  upon  is  another  question  ;  but,  at  all  events,  they  show 
that  between  1577  and  1578  the  printer  had  seen  grounds  for 
making  the  changes.  This  fact  of  itself  establishes  the  importance 
and  interest  of  the  copy  of  1578. 

Disle,  or  his  editor,  pursued  a  similar  course  with  other  authors, 


Ocnjlislj  fttcratuw.  301 

when  they  had  reason  to  believe  that  the  ascriptions  in  the  two 
first  editions  were  erroneous.  We  will  take  an  example  from 
Churchyard,  whose  name  is  not  met  with  in  the  editions  of  1576 
and  1577,  but  who,  according  to  the  edition  of  1578,  wrote  a 
poem  entitled  "  He  persuadeth  his  friend  from  the  fond  effects 
of  love,"  which  is  anonymous  in  other  copies.  Moreover,  the 
subsequent  important  addition  is  made  to  it  in  the  impression  of 
1578  :  — 

"  First  count  the  care  and  then  the  cost, 

And  marke  what  fraud  in  faith  is  found; 

Then  after  come  and  make  thy  bost, 

And  shew  some  cause  why  thou  art  bound : 

For  when  the  wine  doth  runne  full  low, 

You  shall  be  faine  to  drinke  the  lies, 

And  eate  the  flesh,  ful  well  I  know, 

That  hath  ben  blowne  by  many  flies. 

"  We  see,  where  great  devotion  is 

The  people  kneele  and  kisse  the  crosse; 

And  though  we  find  small  fault  of  this, 

Yet  some  will  gilld  a  bridles  bosse. 

A  foole  his  bable  will  not  change, 

Not  for  the  septer  of  a  king; 

In  lovers  life  is  nothing  strange, 

For  youth  delightes  none  other  thing. 

FINIS.     Tho.  Churchyard." 

To  those  who  are  aware  that  Churchyard  began  writing  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI.,  and  that  he  was  a  most  prolific  versifier,  it 
seems  strange  that  Edwards  should  have  omitted  to  select  any 
piece  by  him.  The  same  observation  may  be  made  upon  George 
Whetstone,  whose  name  appears  first  in  the  impression  of  1578, 
at  the  end  of  a  long  poem  entitled  "  Verses  written  of  20  good 
precepts,  at  the  request  of  his  especiall  good  freend  and  kines- 
man,  M.  Robart  Cudderi,  of  Graves  Inne."  Of  Cudden,  as  a 
kinsman  of  Whetstone,  we  hear  on  no  other  authority.  The  poem 
itself  is  much  too  long  to  be  quoted  at  length  here,  but  we  give 
the  opening :  — 

"Old  frendship  binds  (though  faine  I  would  refuse) 
In  this  discourse  to  please  your  honest  mind; 
For,  trust  me  frend,  the  counseling  words  I  use 
Are  rather  forst  of  cause,  then  come  of  kind." 


302  Btbltograpljkal  Account  ot 

After  twenty  other  stanzas  it  concludes  thus  :  — 

"  Thinks,  on  thy  end:  the  tyde  for  none  doth  waight; 
Euen  so  pale  death  for  no  mans  wil  doth  stay: 
Then,  while  thou  mayst,  thy  worldly  reckning  straight, 
Least  when  thou  wouldest,  Death  doth  goodwil  dismay. 

G.  Whetstones.     Formce  nulla  jides." 

The  "  precept "  enforced  is  placed  in  Italic  type  at  the  com 
mencement  of  each  stanza.  On  the  evidence  afforded  by  this 
edition  we  may,  perhaps,  assign  a  poem  headed  "  No  pleasure 
without  some  payne  "  to  -Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  for  his  initials  are 
placed  at  the  end  of  it,  instead  of  E.  S.,  as  they  stand  in  the  two 
earlier  impressions.  E.  S.  is  also  subscribed  to  "  Of  sufferance 
cometh  ease,"  which  in  fact  appears,  on  early  authority,  to  belong 
to  Lord  Vaux.  From  Lord  Yaux  we  must,  however,  take 
"  Beyng  asked  the  occasion  of  his  white  head,  he  aunswereth  thus," 
which  is  said  to  belong  to  W.  Hunnis.  Such  also  will  be  the  case 
with  a  poem  entitled  "  Of  the  ineane  estate."  The  poem,  which 
is  anonymous  in  other  editions,  headed  "  No  foe  to  a  flatterer,"  is 
likewise  attributed  to  Hunnis.  He  has  property  also  in  a  poem 
that  has  no  title,  and  is  given  to  M.  B.  in  the  impressions  of  1576 
and  1577,  but  which  is  called  in  the  impression  of  1578  "  He 
assureth  his  constancie."  The  Earl  of  Oxford,  on  the  same 
evidence,  may  claim  "  Beyng  in  love  he  complaineth,"  and  not 
M.  B.  to  whom  it  is  elsewhere  imputed  ;  while  that  the  initials 
E.  O.  apply  to  him  is  proved  by  their  standing  E.  Ox.  in  the 
copy  of  1578.  It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  names  and  titles 
are  there  put  at  length,  which  in  earlier  and  later  impressions 
stand  only  as  initials ;  and  on  the  whole  the  information  as  to 
authorship  is  much  more  precise  in  the  copy  which  we  now  for 
the  first  time  bring  under  notice  in  any  detail.  It  is  impossible, 
without  consuming  a  much  larger  space  than  we  can  afford,  to 
point  out  all  the  important  differences  :  we  have  necessarily  con 
tented  ourselves  with  some  of  the  most  remarkable. 


EGERIA,   THE   LADY.  —  The    Adventures    of  the   Ladie 
Egeria.      Containing    her    miserable    bannishment    by 


(Englisl)  Ctteraturr.  803 

Duke  Lampanus  her  husbande,  through  the  inducement 
of  Ladie  Eldorna,  the  harlot,  and  Lord  Andromus  the 
Flatterer :  who  for  his  perjurie  and  softe  insinuation  was 
by  a  wonderfull  judgement  utterly  subverted  and  de 
voured.  The  Combat  fought  by  Lord  Travenna  (with 
Necto  the  Slave,  in  steade  of  Andromus  the  Flatterer) 
obtayning  the  victorie  was  afterwards  bannished.  The 
grave  Letters,  wise  and  sentencious  Orations  of  the 
Counsaile,  Judges  and  others.  The  bannishment  of  the 
Dukes  two  children.  Lastly  the  Duke  himselfe  ban 
nished  by  Pasifer  the  Flatterer,  and  Eldorna  the  harlot : 
the  bloudy  murther  of  Eldorna  by  her  owne  bastarde 
sonne  Rastophel,  who  through  their  meanes  usurped  the 
governement:  with  a  wonderfull  description  of  other 
Flatterers  and  insolent  persons :  with  many  other  mem 
orable  accidents,  contayning  wisedome,  discretion  and 
pollicie  ;  no  lesse  renowmed  then  profitable.  Published 
by  W.  C.  Maister  of  Art.  —  At  London,  Printed  by 
Robert  Walde-grave.  4to.  B.  L. 

The  longest  title  to  a  work  of  the  kind  that  is,  perhaps,  to  be 
found  in  our  romance  literature.  It  was  clearly  intended  to  be  a 
puff  of  the  contents  ;  but  however  various  the  materials,  the  story 
is  full  of  the  grossest  improbabilities,  and  on  the  whole  extremely 
tedious.  It  has  no  date,  but  we  may  place  it  between  1580  and 
1590.  The  word  «  published,"  before  the  initials  W.  C.,  are  no 
doubt  to  be  taken  in  the  same  sense  as  "  published  by  I.  C."  on 
the  title-page  of  "  A  poore  Knight  his  Pallace  of  private  Pleas 
ures,"  which  came  out  in  1579.  In  both  cases  W.  C.  and  I.  C. 
must,  we  think,  be  held  to  be  the  names  of  the  writers,  and  not 
merely  of  the  editors  of  the  volumes. 

"The  Adventures  of  Lady  Egeria"  require  only  a  brief 
notice.  They  are  dedicated  by  W.  C.  to  Lady  Cicely  Buckhurst, 
but  without  any  information  as  to  the  author,  or  as  to  the  origin 
of  his  story,  which  certainly  reads  without  that  constraint  and  use 
of  foreign  idioms  that  sometimes  belong  to  mere  translations.  At 


304  Bibliograpljtcctl  2Urount  of 

the  end  is  placed  a  colophon  which  it  is  necessary  to  notice, 
because  it  states  that  it  is  "  the  end  of  the  Duches  Egeriaes  first 
adventures  " ;  as  if  the  wri-ter,  when  he  printed  it,  contemplated 
a  continuation,  which,  if  ever  published,  is  not  now  extant.  The 
probability  is  that,  in  spite  of  the  loquacious  and  descriptive  title, 
the  work  did  not  sell,  and  that  no  second  part  was  ever  called  for 
by  Waldegrave,  or  the  public.  The  running  title  throughout  is 
"  Lady  Egeria  to  her  Adventures."  The  work  extends  to  sign. 
S  2.  We  only  know  of  the  existence  of  two  copies  of  it,  and  it 
is  entirely  prose. 


ELIZABETH,  QUEEN.  —  The  Poores  Lamentation  for  the 
Death  of  our  late  dread  Soveraigne,  the  high  and  mightie 
Princesse  Elizabeth,  Queene  of  England,  France  and 
Ireland.  With  their  Prayers  to  God  for  the  high  and 
mightie  Prince  James,  by  tbe  grace  of  God  King  of 
England,  Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  defender  of  the 
Faith.  —  Imprinted  at  London  for  Thomas  Pavier,  &c. 
1603.  4to.  6  leaves. 

This  is  a  unique  tract,  the  existence  of  which  has  been  long 
known,  but  which,  we  apprehend,  has  never  been  critically  no 
ticed.  A  brief  memorandum  regarding  it  is  all  that  will  be  deemed 
necessary.  The  author  does  not  give  his  name,  and  we  are  aware 
of  no  clue  to  it,  although  the  verses  are  not  utterly  despicable  — 
as  good  perhaps  as  many  of  the  rhyming  effusions  on  the  demise 
of  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  publisher  was  probably  desirous  of  put 
ting  forth  something  on  the  occasion,  and  employed  a  ballad- 
writer  of  the  day  to  supply  him.  Jt  treats  the  commencement  of 
Elizabeth's  life  historically,  deriving  the  materials  from  ordinary 
popular  sources.  Thus  near  the  opening  are  the  following  narra 
tive  stanzas  :  — 

"  In  the  beginning  of  Queene  Maries  raigne 

Her  grace  at  Ashridge  at  her  house  did  lie; 
Sore  sicke,  God  wot,  and  very  full  of  paine, 
Not  like  to  live  but  very  like  to  die: 


(ffnglislj  fifcratur*.  305 

To  her  in  all  the  hast  Queene  Mary  sent 
To  have  her  brought  to  her  incontinent. 

"  Three  of  the  Council  to  that  end  did  ride, 

With  twelve  score  horse-men  in  their  company, 
And  every  one  his  weapon  at  his  side, 

To  Ashridge  posting  they  in  hast  did  hie : 
Yet  it  was  ten  a  clock  within  the  night 
When  they  were  at  the  gate  for  to  alight. 

"  Straight  to  her  chamber  they  in  hast  did  goe, 

And  with  her  grace  demaunded  for  to  speake. 
Answere  was  made  them,  that  the  cause  was  so 

That  she  in  bed  that  time  was  very  weake ; 
And  did  request  them  stay  till  the  next  day, 
Who  answered,  that  the  Queene  they  must  obey." 

They  insist  that,  "  alive  or  dead,"  she  should  go  with  them,  and 
they  carry  her  away  early  in  the  morning  to  the  Court,  where  she 
was  detained  fourteen  days  before  Mary  would  see  her.  From 
thence  Elizabeth  was  sent  to  the  Tower,  and  afterwards  to  Wood 
stock.  Here  the  same  plain  narrative  style  is  continued,  the  ob 
ject  being  to  afford  information  to  the  two-penny  purchasers :  — 

"  During  the  time  that  she  at  Woodstock  lay 

With  life  she  often  escaped  very  neere, 
For  many  ways  Stephen  Gardiner  did  assay, 

As  in  the  story  it  doth  plaine  appeare, 
To  bring  that  godly  Lady  to  her  end 
But  God  above  her  Grace  did  still  defend." 

This  is  just  such  a  production  as  would  have  been  printed  as  a 
penny  broadside,  if  it  had  not  been  too  long.  The  writer  finally 
consoles  himself  for  the  loss  of  Elizabeth  by  thinking,  that,  while 
she  has  ascended  to  heaven,  such  a  successor  as  James  I.  has 
ascended  the  throne  :  he  concludes  thus  : 

"  Then  feare  the  Lord  and  honour  still  thy  King, 

Joyne  all  in  one  the  trueth  for  to  defend ; 
Then  peace  unto  our  land  will  plenty  bring, 
And  all  our  feeble  states  shall  then  amend. 
Then  let  us  all  with  ecchoing  voices  crie, 
The  Lord  preserve  his  Royall  Majesty!" 
VOL.  i.  20 


308  JJtbliograpIjtcal  2lacmnt  of 

ELLIOT,  GEORGE.  —  A  very  true  report  of  the  apprehen 
sion  and  taking  of  that  Arche  Papist  Edmond  Campion, 
the  Pope  his  right  'hand,  with  three  other  lewd  Jesuite 
priests,  and  divers  other  Laie  people,  most  seditious  per 
sons  of  the  like  sort.  Conteining  also  a  controulment 
of  a  most  untrue  former  booke,  set  out  by  one  A.  M.,  alias 
Anthonie  Munday,  concerning  the  same,  as  it  is  to  be 
proved  and  justified  by  George  Elliot,  one  of  the  ordi 
nary  yeomen  of  her  Majesties  Chamber,  Authour  of  this 
booke,  and  chiefest  cause  of  the  finding  of  the  sayd 
lewde  and  seditious  people,  great  enemies  to  God,  their 
loving  Prince  and  Countrie.  Veritas  non  qucerit  angulos. 
—  Imprinted  at  London  at  the  three  Cranes  in  the  Vin- 
tree  by  Thomas  Dawson.  1581.  8vo.  B.  L.  14 
leaves. 

George  Elliot,  who  puts  his  name  at  the  end  of  this  tract,  com 
plains,  in  an  address  "to  the  Reader,"  that  he  had  been  "very 
vilely  slaundered  "  by  Anthony  Munday  in  the  account  published 
of  the  discovery  and  capture  of  Campion  and  his  confederates. 
Munday  took  all  credit  to  himself  in  the  transaction,  whereas 
Elliot  insists  that  he  was  the  chief  means  of  finding,  and  conse 
quent  apprehending  of  the  Jesuits.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  enter 
into  the  claims  of  the  candidates ;  but  Elliot  admits  that  he  came 
forward  very  late  with  his  pamphlet,  and  he  makes  a  merit  of 
having  been  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  of  now  turning  against  the 
friends  of  his  former  faith.  His  tract  is  entirely  prose.  It  is  re 
markable  that,  while  Elliot's  answer  to  Munday  is  dated  1581, 
Munday's  "  Discourse,"  to  which  it  is  an  answer,  has  "  29th  of 
Janua.  1582"  upon  the  title-page,  —  the  printer,  Edward  White, 
making  the  new  year  1582  begin  in  January.  Elliot's  answer 
was  of  course  issued  in  1581-2,  making  the  year  1582  commence 
on  the  25th  March. 


Ctterature.  307 

ELLIS,  G.  —  The  Lamentation  of  the  lost  Sheepe.  By  G. 
E.  —  London,  Printed  by  W.  Jaggard  dwelling  in  Bar 
bican.  1605.  4to. 

The  only  existing  copy  of  this  poem,  that  we  know  of,  wants  a 
page,  sign.  E  3  ;  but  the  writer  has  a  sheet  of  the  same  work, 
which,  unluckily,  does  not  supply  the  deficiency.  It  is  entirely 
of  a  religious  cast,  and  the  versification  has  so  much  general 
excellence  as  to  make  it  very  readable,  and  even  persuasive. 

The  dedication  supplies  the  name  of  the  author,  for  it  is  signed 
G.  Ellis,  which  in  catalogues  has  been  interpreted  George  Ellis, 
but  it  may  have  been  any  other  name  beginning  with  G.  We 
have  nothing  else  to  guide  us,  for  he  left  no  other  work  behind 
him  that  has  survived,  and  this,  as  we  have  said,  has  reached  us 
only  in  a  mutilated  state.  The  dedication  is  "  to  Sir  Francis  Cas- 
tillion,  Knight,  a  Gentleman  Pentioner  to  his  Majesty,"  who  is 
also  addressed  in  an  acrostic.  By  «  the  lost  Sheep  »  the  author 
means  himself,  a  repentant  sinner,  and  he  says  near  the  com- 
meucement,  — 

"  [I]  humbly  come  with  sorrow-rented  hart, 
With  blubbered  eies,  and  hands  upreard  to  heaven, 
To  play  a  poore  lamenting  Lost  Sheepes  parte, 
That  would  weepe  streames  of  bloud  to  be  forgiven, 
So  that  heavens  joyes  may  not  from  me  be  reaven.  ' 
But  (oh)  I  feare  mine  eies  are  drained  drie, 
That,  though  I  would,  inough  I  cannot  crie." 
Farther  on  he  ascribes  his  sinfulness  to  — 
"  HI  Companie,  the  cause  of  many  woes, 
The  sugred  baite  that  hideth  poysoned  hooke, 
The  rock  unseene  that  shipwrackt  soules  ore-throwes 
The  weeping  Crocodile  that  kils  with  look, 
The  Siren  that  can  never  vertue  brooke, 
The  readiest  step  to  ruine  and  decay, ' 
Graces  C3nfounder,  and  hels  nearest  waie." 

After  eighty-one  numbered  stanzas  the  author  winds  up  thus :  - 
"  I  sing  not  I  of  wanton  love-sick  laies, 
Of  tickling  toies  to  feede  fantastick  eares; 
My  Muse  respects  no  glozing  tatling  praise: 
A  guilty  conscience  this  sad  passion  bears: 


308  BibUograptjUcil  2laotmt  of 

My  straying  from  my  Lord  hath  brought  these  tears : 
My  sinne-sick  soule,  with  sorrow  al  besprent, 
Lamenting  thus- a  wretched  life  mispent. 

Finis. 
Omnem  crede  diem  tibi  diluxisse  supremum." 

There  is  an  air  of  sincerity  throughout,  and  we  are  inclined 
to  think  that  Ellis  was  not  hypocritically,  though  poetically, 
repentant. 


ELVIDEN,  EDMUND.  —  The  most  excellent  and  plesant  Me- 
taphoricall  Historic  of  Pesistratus  and  Catanea.  Set 
forth  this  present  yeare  by  Edm.  Elviden  Gentleman.  — 
Imprinted  at  London  by  Henry  Bynneman.  Cum  pri- 
vilegio.  n.  d.  B.  L.  8vo.  95  leaves. 

Although  "  this  present  year  "  is  mentioned  on  the  title-page, 
no  date  is  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  volume  :  it  may,  how 
ever,  be  fixed  about  1570;  and  in  1569  the  same  author  printed  a 
work  called  "  The  Closet  of  Counsells,"  (see  the  next  article.)  The 
dedication  of  the  poem  before  us  is  to  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  Lord 
Great  Chamberlain  of  England,  to  whom  Elviden  offers  "  this 
present  rude  and  grosse  conceite,  wherin  I  have,  to  my  slender 
abilitie,  bestowed  the  fruits  of  my  willing  labour."  In  the  same 
spirit  he  requests  the  Reader  "  to  accept  this  my  simple  indevour, 
and  it  shall  be  the  redy  way  to  incourage  a  gros  conceit  to  some 
what  better  fertility";  adding  that  this  work  "requyreth  rather 
the  judgement  of  the  gentle,  than  the  prayse  of  the  slaunderous, 
or  sentence  of  the  capcious."  "  The  Argument  "  of  the  poem  fol 
lows,  but  in  his  endeavor  to  be  concise,  the  author  has  hardly  ren 
dered  himself  intelligible  :  — 

"  In  Grecian  soyle  two  brothers  born  there  is : 
They  father  have,  Agenetos,  whose  blis 
In  happie  time  the  children  had  attainde. 
The  father  died  and  valiant  sons  remainde. 
The  eldest  sonne,  he  Kenedoxus  hight, 
The  other  namde  Pesistratus:  they  fight 
With  auncient  foes,  who,  Tetimetians  callde, 
Were  (caitifs  al)  to  martial  brothers  thralde: 


<£ngltsl]  Ctterature.  309 

And,  conquest  got,  the  brothers  fal  to  strife 

For  spoile  of  foes,  wheron  ech  seekes  the  life 

(In  pointed  place)  of  other  to  suppresse. 

Pesistrate  conquerour  departs,  and  in  distresse 

He  brother  leaves,  whose  fatal  wound,  he  thought, 

With  cursed  blade  his  cruel  hand  had  wrought. 

Wheron  into  Italian  partes  he  flies, 

And  wel  retainde,  a  seeraely  Ladie  spies, 

Whom,  loving  long,  the  joyfull  man  at  last 

His  Ladies  love  attainde,  his  dollors  past. 

From  ruling  roome  then  Kenedox  deprivde 

In  native  soile,  to  Tarent  towne  arivde, 

Where  brother  was :  of  treason  he  accusde 

The  lovers  both ;  and  Champion  not  refusde, 

In  combat  fought :  the  Kenedox  was  slaine, 

And  lovers  thus  were  rid  from  former  paine. 

Then,  Champion  dead,  was  Pesistrate  exild 

From  Ladies  sight,  whose  chaunged  robes  beguild 

His  foes  despight :  then  proclamation  made 

That  Pesistrate  to  proper  soile  should  vade, 

He  there  arivde,  prepard  a  valiant  hoste, 

Wherewith  returnde  into  Italian  coast, 

He  slew  the  fo  in  open  chalengde  fight, 

That  erst  had  wrought  the  troubled  man  such  spight; 

And  Lady  woonne,  he  tooke  hir  to  his  mate, 

And  livde  at  ease,  and  dyde  in  happie  state." 

This  extract,  of  course,  is  not  a  fair  specimen  of  the  author's 
talents  as  a  versifier,  and  we  shall  select  a  passage  from  the  body 
of  his  production,  which  is  terminated  by  a  colophon  in  Bynne- 
man's  secretary-type  :  —  "  Imprinted  at  London  by  Henry  Bin- 
neman,  dwelling  in  Knightrider  streate  at  the  Signe  of  the  Mer 
maid,"  his  device  occupying  the  last  page.  The  poem,  some 
part  of  which  is  allegorical,  is  rather  arbitrarily  divided  into  six 
unequal  parts,  and  in  the  course  of  it  several  love-letters,  which 
pass  between  the  hero  and  the  heroine,  are  inserted :  these  are 
not  drawn  out  unnecessarily,  but  most  of  the  speeches  are  of 
tedious  length,  and  the  story  moves  slowly  and  heavily,  the  more 
so  on  account  of  the  author's  laborious  versification,  which,  ex 
cepting  in  the  instance  of  one  song,  is  without  any  variety.  Pre- 
cipater,  brother  to  Catanea,  slays  Antropos,  a  traitor,  in  single 
combat,  and  the  author  thus  describes  the  consequences  :  — 


310  Bibliographical  2Uarant  of 

"  Wheron  with  strained  loftie  voice 

the  people  movde  such  cries, 
That  through  their  hie  conceived  joyes 

they  shakt,  I  thinke,  the  skies. 
And  now  the  lovers  were  so  glad, 

as  though  their  lives  renewd 
Their  happy  state  with  heavenly  joyes 

and  pleasures  were  indude. 
But  little  deemed  Pesistrate 

the  riddance  of  his  paine 
To  come  by  death  of  Kenedox, 

his  brother  that  was  slaine. 
Wheron  they  cravde  to  see  the  face 

of  viliant  him,  that  so 
Had  saved  their  lives,  and  maintaind  truth, 

and  vanquished  the  foe. 
And  when,  his  helmet  laide  aside, 

the  lovers  sawe  to  be 
Precipater,  and  people  viewd, 

and  knew  that  it  was  hee, 
0 !  how  the  people  vaunst  his  fame, 

and  joyed  to  see  their  Lorde 
So  valiant  Knight,  and  yelded  prayse 

to  him  with  one  accorde : 
As  though  their  voices  would  have  raisde 

the  man  from  mortal  case 
To  hiest  heavens  for  his  desert 

amongst  the  Gods  to  place. 
And  so  the  lovers  joyd  in  hart, 

requiting  endlesse  thankes 
For  his  aboundant  courtesie, 

and  manly  martial  prankes; 
That  it  doth  farre  excel  my  power 

to  paint  in  proper  wise, 
I  therefore  yeeld  it  to  conceit 

of  eche  man  to  devise." 

The  cant  phrase,  therefore,  of  all  poverty-stricken  penmen, 
"  which  can  better  be  imagined  than  described,"  is  of  ancient 
origin  in  English.  There  is  one  point  deserving  note  in  this 
poem,  which  may  aid  in  fixing  its  date  :  a  song  written  by  Pesis- 
tratus  is  introduced  on  sign.  C,  and  in  the  margin  we  are  told  that 
it  is  "  To  the  tune  of  Damon  and  Pythias."  This  alludes  to  a 


(ffarlg  (ffnglislj  Citeatatt.  311 

song  of  the  same  measure  in  Edwards's  Play  of  "  Damon  and 
Pythias,"  which  must  have  been  written  and  acted  before  1566, 
although  it  was  not  printed  until  1571.  Pesistratus  was  a  much 
better  knight  than  poet,  or  he  never  would  have  gained  the  hand 
of  Catanea.  His  song  runs  thus  :  — 

"  Oh,  heavie  hart  dismaid ! 

oh,  stomacke  stuft  with  paine ! 
Oh,  woful  wight!  oh,  cursed  wretch! 

why  shouldst  thou  not  complaine? 
Art  thou  in  pleasant  state, 

or  hast  thou  cause  to  joy? 
No,  no,  thy  fates  are  frounst  in  feares : 

come,  death,  and  ridde  my  ceasles  anoy. 

"  Oh,  cruel  carelesse  wretch ! 

doest  thou  deserve  thy  life, 
Since  thcu  thy  gentle  brothers  breast 

hast  pearst  with  cursed  knife ? 
What,  meanest  thou  to  live  ? 

and  wilt  thou  life  enjoy? 
No,  no,  thy  fates  are  frounst  in  feares : 

come,  death,  and  ridde  my  ceasles  anoy. 

,  "  You  fatal  sisters  all, 

you  twisters  teare  my  threede : 
With  fatall  knife  my  fatal  knott 

to  shai'e  in  hast  proceede; 
For  I,  unhappie  wretch, 

am  cleane  exilde  from  joy, 
And  live  in  woes,  in  griefes  and  feares : 

come,  death,  and  ridde  my  ceasles  anoy." 

As  far  as  research  has  yet  extended,  the  present  is  the  only 
existing  copy  of  "  Pesistratus  and  Catanea."  Of  the  personal  his 
tory  of  the  author  nothing  whatever  has  been  collected. 


ELVIDEN,  EDMOND.  —  The  Closet  of  Counsells,  contein- 
ing  the  advice  of  divers  wyse  Philosphers,  totichinge 
sundry  morall  matters,  in  Poesies,  Preceptes,  Proverbes 
and  Parables,  translated  and  collected  out  of  divers 


312  Btbliograpljtcal  Account  of 

aucthors  into  Englishe  verse  :  by  Edmond  Elviden  Gent. 
Whereunto  is  anexed  a  pithy  and  pleasant  discription 
of  the  abuses  and  vanities  of  the  worlde.  1569.  —  Im- 
prynted  at  London  in  Fleetstreat,  at  the  signe  of  the 
Saint  John  Evangeliste,  by  Thomas  Colwell.  8vo. 
B.  L. 

The  date  of  the  publication  of  this  rather  wearisome  work  is, 
as  we  imagine,  anterior  to  that  of  the  preceding  article,  and  it  is 
by  a  different  printer.  Bynneman,  however,  who  put  "  Pesistra- 
tus  and  Catanea  "  into  type,  printed  a  new  impression  of  "  The 
Closet  of  Counsells"  in  1573.  It  was  therefore  acceptable  to 
readers  of  the  day. 

The  dedication  is  to  the  author's  nephew,  for  whom  perhaps  the 
"  Poesies,  Preceptes,  Proverbes  and  Parables  "  were  collected ;  and 
although  Elviden,  in  his  address  "  to  the  Reader,"  apologizes  for 
his  "  worke,  barbarous,  rude  and  unpollished,"  he  seems  to  have 
ransacked  Plato,  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  Seneca,  Plutarch,  &c.  for 
materials,  which  fill  the  first  seventy-seven  folios  of  his  book. 
We  then  arrive  at  "A  pithy  and  pleasante  discription  of  the  Abbu- 
sions  and  Vanities  of  the  Worlde,"  which  is  a  very  prosy  affair, 
though  in  verse  :  it  is  certainly  not  "  pithy,"  for  it  occupies  forty 
pages  ;  and  it  is  not  "pleasant,"  inasmuch  as  it  is  more  remark 
able  for  "dullness  than  delight."  There  is  not  a  syllable  to  ren 
der  it  applicable  to  the  state  of  manners  or  society  of  the  time. 
In  one  place  Elviden  says,  — 

"  Viewe  therefore  from  the  top  to  toe 

of  every  such  degree, 
And  wisely  ponder  of  the  same, 

and  thou  shalt  plainly  see, 
That  in  conclusion  each  and  all 

is  bent  to  care  and  payne, 
And  yet  doth  tende  to  no  good  ende, 

but  frustrate  and  in  vayne." 

It  terminates  thus,  which,  being  the  conclusion,  is  certainly  the 
most  welcome  part  of  the  book. 

"  Who  therfore  gladly  would  receave 
the  happy  life  and  time, 


(ffnjlisf)  Citcratttre.  313 

Must  in  his  mortall  race  avoyde 

the  motions  unto  crime : 
Regarding  each  thing  in  this  vale, 

as  I  have  said  before, 
To  be  but  frustrate,  vayne  and  fonde, 

no  better,  nor  no  more. 
For  mortall  trace  a  passage  is 

unto  another  life, 
Which  is  not  mortall,  but  devoyde 

of  foolish  mortall  strife. 
And  therfore,  he  that  willingly 

would  other  life  attayne, 
Must  seeke  for  to  reforme  this  life, 

because  it  is  but  vayne." 

It  is  saying  more  for  the  patience  than  for  the  poetry  of  the 
age,  when  such  tedious  commonplaces  went  through  at  least  two 
distinct  impressions  in  four  years. 


ELYOT,  SIR  THOMAS.  —  Pasqtiyll  the  Playne.  Anno  M. 
D.  XL.  —  [Colophon]  Londini  in  aedibus  Thomae  Ber- 
theleti  typis  impress.  Cum  privilegio  ad  imprimendum 
solum.  Anno  M.  D.  XL.  8vo.  B.  L.  22  leaves. 

We  have  never  seen  any  earlier  edition  of  this  semi-serious 
argument  on  the  subject  of  loquacity  and  silence,  but  it  was  first 
published  in  1533.  A  supposed  edition  in  1539  is  in  fact  only  the 
impression  of  1540 ;  but  the  work  must  have  been  popular.  It  is 
in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between  Pasquil,  Gnatho,  and  Harpoc- 
rates,  and  it  is  introduced  by  an  epistle  "  to  the  gentile  reders  " 
by  Sir  Thomas  Elyot,  who  explains  what  the  characters  are,  and 
afterwards  deprecates  the  censures  of  "  venemous  tunges  and 
overthwart  wittes."  The  dress  of  Gnatho  as  described  by  Pas 
quil  is  worth  quoting  :  — 

"  A  cappe  full  of  aglettes  and  bottons !  This  longe  estrige  fether  doeth 
wonderly  well:  the  tirfe  of  the  cappe  towrned  downe  afore,  like  a  pentise, 
hath  a  marvailous  good  grace ;  but  this  longe  gowne,  with  strayte  sieves, 
is  a  non  sequitur,  and  lette  you  to  flee ;  and  than  your  fethers  shal  stande 
you  in  no  stede,  and  soo,  moughte  you  happen  to  be  combred,  yf  ye  shulde 
come  in  to  a  stoure." 


314  Bibliographical  Account  of 

This  contradiction  in  Gnatho's  dress  is  equally  contradicted  in 
its  accompaniments,  for  Pasquil  detects  two  books  about  him,  and 
they  appear  to  be  copies  of  the  New  Testament  and  of  Chaucer's 
tale  of  "  Troylus  and  Chreseid."  1  Here  we  may  remark  that  the 
whole  tract  has  a  decidedly  Protestant  tendency,  and  that  the  con 
versation  between  the  three  is  conducted  with  the  most  perfect 
freedom.  Among  other  things,  Pasquil  is  thus  made  to  speak 
against  confession  :  — "  Wenest  thou  that  I  was  never  con 
fessed  ?  Yes ;  I  have  tolde  a  tale  to  a  friar,  or  this  tyme,  with 
a  grote  in  my  hande,  and  have  been  assoyled  forthwith  without 
any  farder  rehersall,  where,  if  a  pore  man  had  tolde  halfe  so 
moch,  he  should  have  been  made  equall  with  the  divell." 

Pasquil  swears  continually  by  St.  John,  St.  Paul,  and  other 
saints,  while  Harpocrates  indulges  in  similar  asseverations,  and 
several  times  invokes  the  Saviour.  From  Gnatho  such  exclama 
tions  might  be  expected.  The  question  discussed  is,  when  men 
ought,  and  when  they  ought  not  to  speak,  Gnatho  beginning  with 
a  quotation  on  the  point  from  ^Eschylus.  He  handles  the  matter 
so  well  that  Pasquil  admits  that  Gnatho,  while  dressed  otherwise 
like  an  extreme  fop,  deserves  also  to  wear  a  doctor's  gown.  We 
may  cite  as  a  specimen  the  following  curious  picture  of  the  man 
ners  of  the  time. 

"  In  olde  tyme  men  used  to  occupy  the  mornynge  in  deepe  and  subtile 
studies,  and  in  counsailes  concerninge  the  commune  weal,  and  other  mat 
ters  of  great  importaunce.  In  lyke  wise,  than  to  here  controversies  and 
gyve  judgementes.  And  if  they  had  any  causes  of  theyr  owne,  than  to 
treate  of  them;  and  that  didde  they  not  without  great  consyderation,  pro- 
cedynge  bothe  of  naturall  rayson,  and  also  counsayle  of  phisyke.  And 
after  diner  they  refreshed  theyr  wittes  eyther  with  instrumentes  of  mu- 
syke,  or  withe  redinge,  or  heringe  some  pleasant  story,  or  beholdinge  some 
thinge  delectable  and  honeste.  And  after  theyr  diner  was  digested,  than 
eyther  they  exercysed  them  selfes  in  rydinge,  runnynge  on  fote,  or  shot- 
ynge,  or  other  lyke  pastyme,  or  went  with  theyr  haukes  to  se  a  flight  at  the 

1  Hence  we  might  infer,  and  it  is  not  very  improbable,  that  Sir  T.  Elyot 
referred  to  some  separate  publication  of  Chaucer's  "  most  cunningly  am 
plified"  poem,  as  Speght  justly  describes  it.  It  would  not  have  been 
easy  for  Gnatho  to  have  carried  the  large  folio  of  Chaucer's  Works  in  his 


f)  Cifrratitre.  315 

ryver,  or  would  se  their  grehoundes  course  the  hare,  or  the  dere ;  whiche 
they  didde  as  well  to  recreate  theyr  wittes,  as  also  to  get  them  good  ap 
petite.  But,  lo !  nowe  all  this  is  tourned  to  a  newe  fascion ;  God  helpe 
ye !  the  worlde  is  almost  at  an  ende ;  for  after  noone  is  tourned  to  fore 
noone,  vertue  into  vyce,  vice  into  vertu,  devocion  into  hypocresie,  and  in 
some  places  menne  say,  fayth  is  tourned  to  herisye." 

Gnatho  is  the  advocate  of  talking,  and  Harpocrates  of  silence, 
while  Pasquil  agrees  with  neither,  and  throughout  is  very  plain- 
spoken  in  his  severe  remarks :  in  fact,  in  some  places  the  dia 
logue  assumes  the  character  of  a  prose  satire.  After  his  two 
companions  have  left  him,  Pasquil,  who  is  represented  as  an  old 
talking  statue  in  the  streets  of  Rome,  concludes  in  these  terms  :  — 

"  Nowe,  whan  these  two  felowes  comme  to  theyr  maister,  they  wyl  tell 
al  that  they  have  hard  of  me :  it  maketh  no  matter,  for  I  have  sayd  noth- 
yng  but  by  the  way  of  advertisement,  without  reprochyng  of  any  one 
person,  wherewith  no  good  man  hath  any  cause  to  take  any  displesure. 
And  he  that  doth,  by  that  whyche  is  spoken  he  5s  soone  spied  to  what  parte 
he  leaneth.  Judge  what  men  lyst,  my  thought  shall  be  free." 

The  whole  is  extremely  amusing,  and  the  argument  sometimes 
so  subtle  that  Gnatho  hardly  seems  to  understand  it :  neither  he 
nor  Harpocrates  are  convinced,  but  soliloquizing  Pasquil  is  left  in 
possession  of  the  field  —  or  rather  of  the  street. 


ENGLAND'S  HOPE.  —  Englands  Hope  against  Irish  Hate. 
Sint  Mcecenates  et  non  deerunt  Marones.  —  At  London, 
Printed  by  W.  W.  for  Thomas  Hayes.  1600.  4to.  14 
leaves. 

This  poem  has,  we  believe,  never  before  been  heard  of,  but  it  is 
of  little  merit.  At  the  end  only  are  placed  the  initials  J.  G.  E., 
the  last  being  probably  put  for  Esquire,  so  that  the  writer  appears 
not  to  have  been  himself  very  proud  of  his  performance.  "  The 
Epistle  Dedicatorie  "  is  addressed  to  nobody  and  signed  by  no 
body,  and  in  it  the  author  recommends  his  reader  "  not  to  measure 
the  matter  by  the  man,  nor  proportion  the  worth  of  my  labour  with 
the  unworthiness  of  my  selfe,"  which  is  saying  about  the  same  thing 


316  Sibltograpljical  2Uamnt  of 

twice  over,  although  hardly  worth  saying  once.  J.  G.  E.  espe 
cially  attacks  Tyrone,  but  also  the  Irish  generally,  as  well  as  the 
Spaniards,  in  this  and  similar  verses  :  — 

"  But.if  the  sinnewes  of  their  strong  assaultes 
The  just  revenger  have  in  sunder  crackt ; 
If  so  their  huge  Armados  in  the  vaults 
Of  vast  Oceans  kingdome  have  been  wrackt, 
Leaving  the  world  to  descant  on  their  faults : 
If  all  their  boasting  threates  away  were  blowne, 
And  they  supprest,  then  why  not  now  Terone?  " 

The  whole  is  in  the  same  stanza,  and  each  stanza  separated 
from  its  fellows  by  a  line  across  the  page.  The  author  afterwards 
describes  what  he  calls  the  "  Traitor  Passant,"  the  "  Traitor  Re 
gardant,"  the  "  Traitor  Couchant,"  and  the  "  Traitor  Rampant," 
and  asks,  — 

"  But  if  Throckmorton,  Campion  and  the  rest, 
With  those  their  deadly  sinnes  in  number  doubling, 
All  agents  to  the  triple  wreathed  Beast, 
With  plodding  feete  our  spring  of  gladnes  troubling, 
Fell  in  their  owne  mudd  errours  groveling, 

If  their  blood  paceing  tracts  were  quickly  knowne, 
And  they  supplanted,  Why  not  then  Terone  V" 

Many  of  the  stanzas  terminate  with  this  inquiry.  He  praises 
Walter  Earl  of  Essex,  Lord  Grey  of  Wilton,  (Spenser's  Patron,) 
Sir  Henry  Sidney,  and  Sir  W.  Fitzwilliam,  who  in  1600  were  all 
dead ;  but  had  they  been  alive,  it  is  not  likely  that  they  would 
have  been  very  anxious  for  J.  G.  E.'s  laudation. 


ENGLISH-WOMEN,  HABITS  OF.  —  Ornatus  Muliebris  Angli- 

carms,  or  the  severall  Habits  of  English  Women  from 

the  Nobilitie  to  the  contry  Woman,  as  they  are  in  these 

times.    Winceslaus  Hollar,  Bohemus,  fecit  Londoni.    A. 

1640.     Cum  privilegio  Regis.     4to.     27  leaves. 

The  first  leaf  is  a  plain  engraved  title-page  as  above,  after 

which  come  twenty-six  most  exquisitely  engraved   copperplates, 

representing  the  female  dresses  of   all  classes  in  the  reign  of 


(ffngltel)  iCiferatur*.  317 

Charles  I.  They  are  all  but  the  last  numbered  at  the  corner, 
and  upon  each  (excepting  the  third,  seventh,  thirteenth,  and 
twenty-third)  is  the  name  of  the  artist,  who  might  well  be  proud 
of  his  performance.  The  first,  third,  thirteenth,  and  twenty-third 
are  without  dates;  and  eighth  and  fourteenth  are  dated  1638; 
the  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  seventh,  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  are 
dated  1639,  and  the  remainder  1640.  The  difference  in  the  char 
acter  of  every  face,  and  the  individuality  of  the  representations, 
seem  to  establish  that  most  of  them  were  from  the  life,  beginning 
with  Queen  Henrietta  Maria. 


ESSEX,  EARL  OF.  —  A  True  Coppie  of  a  Discourse  written 
by  a  Gentleman  employed  in  the  late  Voyage  of  Spaine 
and  Portingale:  Sent  to  his  particular  friend,  and  by 
him  published,  for  the  better  satisfaction  of  all  such,  as 
hauing  been  seduced  by  particular  report,  haue  entred 
into  conceipts  tending  to  the  discredit  of  the  enterprise, 
and  Actors  in  the  same.  —  At  London  Printed  for 
Thomas  Woodcock  dwelling  in  Paules  Churchyard,  at 
the  signe  of  the  blacke  Beare.  1589.  4to.  B.  L.  31 
leaves. 

The  chief  interest  of  this  very  rare  tract  depends  upon  the 
Earl  of  Essex,  and  upon  his  concern  in  the  Expedition  to  Spain 
and  Portugal  in  1589,  under  Sir  Francis  Drake  and  Sir  John 
Norris.  However,  it  adverts  to  the  whole  undertaking  from  its 
commencement  to  its  termination,  and  the  object,  as  the  title-page 
explains,  was  to  justify  it,  and  to  show,  by  its  results,  that  it 
had  much  tended  to  the  glory  and  advantage  of  England,  as  well 
as  to  the  renown  of  all  the  leaders  concerned  in  it.  It  was  evi 
dently  founded  upon  official  documents  and  information,  brought 
forward  to  remove  the  prevailing  impression  against  the  under 
taking  and  its  issue.  It  deserves  notice  that  the  word  "  particu 
lar  "  in  connection  with  "  report "  on  the  title-page  was  probably 
a  misprint,  and  in  an  old  handwriting  it  has  been  altered,  in  the 
copy  before  us,  (the  only  one  we  have  been  able  to  examine,)  to 
partial^  which  is  most  likely  what  was  intended. 


318  Bibliograpljkal  Account  of 

An  address  "  To  the  Reader  "  states  that  this  "  report  of  the 
late  voyage  into  Spaine  and  Portingall "  had  been  nearly  four 
months  in  the  hands  of  the  party  who  put  it  forth,  placed  there 
by  his  near  friend,  a  gentleman  who  had  been  employed  in  the 
enterprise,  who  had  desired  him  "to  reserve  it  to  himself."  He 
had  nevertheless  disobeyed  the  injunction,  in  order  to  remove  the 
opinion  some  held  of  the  action,  and  to  show  how  much  honor  the 
nation  had  gained  by  it. 

The  writer  sums  up  what  had  been  accomplished  in  the  outset 
in  these  terms  :  —  "In  this  short  time  of  our  adventure  wee  haue 
wonne  a  Towne  by  escalade,  battred  and  assaulted  another,  over- 
throwen  a  mightie  Princes  power  in  the  field,  landed  our  Armie 
in  three  severall  places  of  his  kingdom,  marched  seaven  daies  in 
the  hart  of  his  Countrey,  lyen  three  nights  in  the  Suburbes  of  his 
principall  Citie,  beaten  his  forces  into  the  gates  thereof,  and  pos 
sessed  two  of  his  frontier  Forts." 

He  first  gives  the  highest  possible  character  to  Sir  John  Norris 
as  a  soldier,  and  to  Sir  Francis  Drake  as  a  sailor,  and  then  goes 
over  all  the  details  from  the  landing  of  the  troops  at  the  Groyne 
on  20th  April,  1589,  to  the  return  of  the  expedition  in  the 
beginning  of  July ;  and  he  takes  care  to  make  the  most  of  every 
thing  that  tells  in  favor  of  the  English.  The  Earl  of  Essex,  his 
brother  Walter  Devereux,  Sir  Roger  Williams,  Sir  Philip  Butler, 
and  Sir  Edward  Wingfield  (having  escaped  from  England,  to  the 
Queen's  vehement  displeasure,  a  circumstance  not  mentioned  by 
this  writer)  did  not  join  the  fleet  until  after  it  had  quitted  the 
Groyne ;  but  the  Earl  afterwards  always  led  the  vanguard,  in 
company  with  Sir  Roger  Williams,  by  consent  of  the  Generals. 
In  the  account  of  the  affair  at  Peniche  nothing  is  said  of  the  kill 
ing  of  a  man  by  Essex  single-handed,  as  stated  in  some  advices. 
The  troops  came  to  Lisbon  on  May  25th,  and  the  Earl  of  Essex 
chased  the  enemy,  who  made  a  sally,  "  even  to  the  gates  of  the 
hi^h  Towne."  Meanwhile  Drake  made  himself  master  of  Cas- 

O 

cais,  and  thither  the  English  army  marched ;  and  here  it  was  that 
the  Earl  of  Essex  sent  his  challenge  to  meet  any  equal  singly, 
or  six,  eight,  ten,  or  more  on  each  side,  in  order  to  decide  the 
victory. 


Ciferator*.  319 

On  6th  June  the  Earl,  "  upon  receipt  of  letters  from  her 
Majestie,"  took  his  departure  for  England.  The  great  sickness  of 
the  troops  followed  soon  afterwards,  and  the  particulars,  when 
Essex  was  gone,  are  unimportant  and  uninteresting.  The  forces 
under  Norris  returned  to  Plymouth  on  the  2d  July,  where  he 
found  Drake  and  nearly  all  the  Queen's  ships. 

The  pamphlet  is  a  very  able  one,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  it 
the  writer  dwells  at  large  upon  the  triumphs  that  had  been 
accomplished  by  a  comparatively  small  force,  and  illustrates  his 
subject  by  various  references  and  examples.  Nearer  the  close 
there  is  a  mention  of  the  railing  of  Martin  Marprelate,  and  an 
enlargement  upon  the  happiness  and  security  of  England,  in  spite 
of  the  efforts  of  all  her  enemies.  The  only  point  on  which  the 
author  indulges  a  complaint  relates  to  the  small  estimate  in  which 
the  military  profession  was  held :  —  "  But  it  is  true,"  he  says, 
"  that  no  man  shall  be  a  Prophet  in  his  countrey ;  and  for  my 
owne  part,  I  will  lay  aside  my  armes,  till  that  profession  shall 
have  more  reputation,  and  live  with  my  friends  in  the  countrey, 
attending  either  some  more  fortunate  time  to  use  them,  or  some 
other  good  occasion  to  make  me  forget  them." 

The  date  at  the  end  is  —  "  From  London  the  30  of  August 
1589  ; "  so  that,  if  it  be  true  that  the  person  who  caused  the  tract 
to  be  printed  had  had  it  nearly  four  months  in  his  hands  before  he 
sent  it  to  press,  it  could  not  have  been  published  until  the  latter 
end  of  December. 

Stowe,  in  his  Chronicle  (edition  of  1605,  p.  1261),  gives  all  the 
details  of  the  shipping,  their  names,  commanders,  &c.,  but  is  silent 
respecting  the  disobedient  resolution  of  the  Earl  of  Essex  to 
escape  from  court  and  join  in  the  enterprise. 


EVANS,  LEWIS.  — The  Castle  of  Christianize,  detecting 
the  long  erring  estate  as  well  of  the  Romaine  Church, 
as  of  the  Byshop  of  Rome :  together  with  the  defence 
of  the  Catholique  Faith:  Set  forth  by  Lewys  Evens. 
[Texts  from  Eccl.  21,  Hieron  ad  Paulum  &c.]  — 1m- 


320  Bibliographical  Account  of 

printed  at  London  by  Henry  Denham.     8vo.     B.  L. 


Lewis  Evans  was  the  author  of  a  sprightly  but  satirical  ballad  * 
entitled  "  How  to  wyve  well,"  which  was  printed  by  Owen  Rog 
ers  about  the  year  1560  or  1561.  It  is  preserved  in  a  unique 
broadside,  and  opens  thus  :  — 

"  Wher  wyving  some  mislike, 

And  women  muche  displease, 
The  women  frowarde  be, 
And  fewe  men  can  them  please." 

Thence  he  proceeds  to  enlarge  upon  the  consequences  of  marry 
ing  a  Shrew,  and  after  twenty  four-line  stanzas  he  ends  with  this 
piece  of  good  advice  :  — 

"  You  maydens  al,  that  wives  do  mind 

In  time  to  come  to  be, 
Endever  your  selfe  that  eche  of  you 
A  faythfull  wyfe  may  be." 

The  work  before  us  is  of  a  far  different  character  —  sombre  and 
severe;  but,  as  a  sort  of  intermediate  production,  we  may  men 
tion  Lewis  Evans's  translation  of  "  The  fyrste  two  Satars  or 
Poyses  of  Grace,"  entered  by  Thomas  Cobwell,  the  printer,  in 
1564-5,  the  second  only  of  which,  as  far  as  we  know,  came  from 
the  press.  If,  as  is  most  likely,  the  "  first  satire  "  was  also  pub 
lished,  it  has  not  come  down  to  our  day.  The  translator  was  a 
schoolmaster,  and  from  the  dedication  of  his  "  Castle  of  Christian- 
itie "  to  the  Queen  (at  what  precise  date  it  was  written  has  not 
been  ascertained)  we  learn  that  he  had  been  a  refugee  on 
account  of  his  adherence  to  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  but 
by  "  her  Majestys  great  clemency "  had  been  allowed  to  return 
to  England  on  becoming  a  convert  to  the  Protestant  faith.  To  it 
is  added  an  Epistle  "  to  his  loving  friends  "  whom  he  had  aban 
doned  in  faith,  and  who,  he  feared,  would  now  abandon  him  in 
friendship.  He  tells  them  that  his  duty  to  God,  to  the  Queen, 
and  to  his  country  had  required  him  "  to  renounce  obstinacie,  to 
knowledge  the  right  way,  and  to  bid  defiance  to  idolatrie."  He 

i  The  whole  of  it  may  be  found  in  the  Percy  Society's  first  publication, 
"  Old  Ballads,  from  early  Printed  Copies,"  1840,  p.  37. 


g  (fngltslj  Cittratew.  321 

goes  on :  —  "I  have  therefore  in  this  treatise,  though  not  elo 
quently,  yet  faithfully,  brought  forth  reason,  authorise  and  Scrip 
ture,  and  that  to  defende  the  Catholike  fayth,  and  to  chase  away 
the  smoke  of  hell,  the  mist  of  Antichrist,  and  the  false,  long-mayn- 
tayned  merchandise  of  Satan." 

This  must  of  course  have  been  written  after  1565,  when  he  was 
in  Antwerp,  and  just  as  violent  an  assailant  of  the  opposite  side  of 
the  question ;  and  the  colophon,  at  the  end  of  the  work  before  us, 
settles  the  year  when  Lewis  Evans  (upon  what,  if  any,  induce 
ment  does  not  appear)    came  to  his  senses  on  the  subject  of 
religion,  for  it  is  in  these  terms,  "  Scene  .and  allowed,  according 
to  the  order  appoynted  :  Anno  1568."     The  "  order  appointed  " 
related  to  the  due  licensing  of  works  of  controversial  divinity ; 
and  it  was  obviously  necessary  to  be  careful  as  to  what  Evans 
might  write,  for  in  1565  he  had  printed  abroad  "  The  betraying 
of  the  beastliness  of  Heretics,"  and  in  1570  published  in  England 
a  small  work  entitled  "  The  hatefull  hypocrisy  and  rebellion  of 
Komish  Prelates."     (AtJi.  Oxon.  I.  411,  edit.  Bliss.)     He  seems 
to  have  been  equally  violent  and  virulent  on  both  sides ;  but  in 
general,  in  the  work  in  our  hands,  as  it  appeared  at  a  middle 
date,  so  it  took  a  middle  course,  and  in  some  places  was  not  so 
furious  as  such  a  convert  might  be  expected  to  have  been.     It  is 
not  necessary  for  us  to  enter  into  an  examination  of  his  "  Castle 
of  Christianize,"  which  was  clearly  intended  to  propitiate  persons 
in  authority,  and  which  handles  the  usual  topics  without  any 
novelty  in   argument,  or  peculiarity  in  style.     It  is  not  at   all 
certain  that  Lewis  Evans  did  not  ultimately  revert  to  Popery  and 
die  a  Roman  Catholic  ;  but  it  could  not  be  of  much  importance  to 
anybody,  but  himself,  to  what  party  so  versatile  and  volatile  a 
person  ultimately  adhered. 


EVANS,  THOMAS.  —  Oedipus:   Three  Cantoes.     Wherein 
is  contained :    1  His  unfortunate  Infancy.      2  His  exe 
crable  Actions.      3  His  lamentable  End.      By  T.  E. 
Bach :  Art.  Cantab.      Oedipus  sum,  non  Davus.  —  Lon- 
voi,.  i.  21 


322  Btbltcjjrapljkal  Account  of 

don,   Printed   by   Nicholas   Okes.     1615.     12mo.     39 
leaves. 

It  is  possible,  as  there  is  no  bookseller's  name  on  the  title-page, 
that  this  production  was  not  printed  for  sale.  It  is,  however, 
dedicated  and  subscribed  at  length  to  "  Mr.  John  Clapham 
Esquire,  one  of  the  Sixe  Clarkes  of  the  Chauncerie  "  ;  and  in  a 
preliminary  address,  "savouring  much  of  the  academy,"  the 
author  says  that  it  is  his  "  first  child,  but  not  the  heyre  of  all  the 
fathers  wit :  there  is  some  laid  up  to  enrich  a  second  brother,  to 
keepe  it  from  accustomed  dishonesty,  when  I  shall  put  it  to  shift 
into  the  world ;  yet  if  this  prove  a  griefe  to  the  parent,  I  will 
instantly  be  divorc't  from  Thalia,  and  make  myself  happy  in  the 
progeny  from  a  better  stocke."  Probably  the  divorce  from  Thalia, 
a  mensa  et  ihoro,  took  place,  as  we  hear  of  no  second  offspring. 

A  general  "  argument "  to  the  three  Cantos  precedes  the  first 
Canto  in  these  lines  :  — 

"  Oracles  counceld  to  preserve,  a  sonne 
Exposed  is  to  death,  reserv'd  by  chance, 
Doth  all  that  to  him's  destin'd  to  be  done. 
In  Father's  bloud  he  steepes  his  impious  lance, 
Partakes  incestuous  sweetes  through  ignorance. 
Untill,  truth  knowne,  he  teares  out  both  his  eyes, 
So  killes  his  mother,  and  by  lightning  dies." 

Each  canto  contains  about  six  hundred  lines,  rhyming  alter 
nately,  and  sometimes  flowing  with  ease,  but  without  any  origi 
nality  of  invention.  The  whole  story  is  thus  summarily  wound  up : 
the  author  is  speaking  of  the  last  meeting  between  blind  (Edipus 
and  Jocasta  :  — 

"  So  having  all  the  office  of  his  eye 
Discharg'd  by  th'  other  foure,  his  guidlesse  feet 
Are  usher'd  by  his  hands;  when  suddenly, 
His  wife,  his  mother,  both  in  one,  him  meets. 
Son,  husband  (cries  she)  would  not  both,  or  neither, 
My  wombes  Primitite,  my  beds  second  Lord ! 
Why  turnst  thou  hence  thy  hollow  circles  ?  whither 
Those  rings  without  their  jewels  ?  hold  this  sword. 
Looke  on  my  bosome  with  the  eyes  of  thought; 
Lend  thou  the  hand  and  I  will  lend  the  sight: 


£iterata«.  323 

My  death  thou  mayst,  that  hast  a  fathers  wrought. 

Strike  thou  but  home  thou  canst  not  strike  but  right. 

Why  dost  thou  stay?  Am  I  not  guilty  too? 

Then  beare  not  all  the  punishment  alone; 

Some  oft  is  mine;  on  me  mine  owne  bestow: 

A  heavy  burden  parted  seemeth  none. 

Oh!  I  conjure  thee  by  these  lamps  extinguisht, 

By  all  the  wrongs  and  rights  that  we  have  done, 

By  this  wombe  lastly,  which  hath  not  distinguisht 

Her  love  betwixt  a  husband  and  a  sonne. 

Ore-come  at  length  he  strikes  with  one  full  blow: 

Her  life  it  selfe  to  a  long  flight  betakes. 

He  wanders  thence,  secur'd  in  dangers  now, 

Made  lesse  already  then  fate  lesse  can  make. 

Long  liv'd  he  so,  till  heaven  compassion  tooke: 

Revenge  herselfe  saw  too  much  satisfied. 
Jove  with  unwonted  thunder-bolt  him  strooke, 
Into  a  heape  of  peacefull  ashes  dryed. 
His  sonnes  both  killing  warres,  his  daughters  fate, 
To  following  buskind  Writers  I  commit : 
My  Popinjay  is  lesson'd  not  to  prate, 
Where  many  words  may  argue  little  wit." 

This  specimen  shows  that  the  author  is  not  very  strict  in  his 
observance  of  the  exactness  of  rhyme  ;  and  other  parts  of  his 
poem  tend  to  the  decided  conviction  that  it  was  never  meant  that 
he  should  arrive  at  immortality  by  the  road  over  Parnassus. 


EVOBDANUS.  — The  first  and  second  part  of  the  History 
of  the  famous  Euordanus  Prince  of  Denmark.  With 
the  strange  Aduentures  of  lago,  Prince  of  Saxonie: 
And  both  theyr  severall  fortunes  in  Loue.  — At  London, 
Printed  by  J.  R.  for  R.  B.  and  are  to  be  sold  in  Paules 
Church-yard  at  the  signe  of  the  Sun.  1605.  4to. 
B.  L. 

An  English  romance  which  has  never  been  examined.  Although 
the  «  first  and  second  part  "  are  mentioned  on  the  title-page,  the 
only  copy  hitherto  discovered  concludes  at  the  end  of  the  "  first 
part."  It  is  certainly  not  a  translation,  but  in  various  respects  an 


324  Btbliograpfjkal  ^crount  of 

imitation  of  the  style  of  Robert  Greene.  It  professes  to  have  been 
derived  from  the  Chronicles  of  Denmark,  but  by  whom  is  not 
stated,  and  we  apprehend  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  It  may  be 
a  question  how  far  the  success  of  Shakspeare's  "  Hamlet,"  in 
1602,  1603,  and  1604,  may  have  led  writers  of  fiction  to  pretend 
to  have  resorted  to  similar  sources. 

Correct  geography  is  not  affected  to  be  observed ;  for  Mayence 
is  represented  as  the  capital  of  Denmark,  Flanders  is  stated  to  be 
part  of  the  same  kingdom,  and  Dantzic  one  of  its  chief  cities. 
The  heroine  is  supposed  to  be  the  daughter  of  the  King  of 
France,  with  whom  Prince  Edward  of  England  falls  in  love,  and 
he  obtains  the  prize  at  a  tournament,  where  the  lady  is  thus  de 
scribed  :  — 

"  Emilia,  sitting  amongst  the  rest  seemed  like  Cinthia  placed  amongst 
the  lesser  starres,  being  in  the  fulnes  of  her  power :  or  like  Diana  follow 
ing  her  chase  thorow  the  woods  and  launes,  accompanied  with  her  traine  of 
Nimphs,  whose  paine  in  pursute  had  raised  in  her  Alablaster  cheeks  a 
lively  vermilion  die.  So  seemed  the  beautifull  Princesse,  having  in  her 
well  proportioned  face  the  lovely  rose  and  lilly  striving  for  maisterdome." 

It  cannot  be  worth  while  to  enter  here  into  a  story  so  com 
menced.  Evordanus  and  lago  are  of  about  the  same  age,  and  in 
their  youth  have  been  instructed  not  only  in  their  own  language, 
but,  what  is  unusual,  in  Greek  and  Latin.  The  two  young  Princes 
require  to  be  knighted  in  order  that  they  may  draw  a  magic 
sword  from  its  scabbard,  but  the  Duke  of  Saxony  objects  to  com 
ply  with  their  request  on  account  of  their  youth :  — 

"  All  which  could  not  cause  them  to  desist  from  their  sute,  but  still 
more  earnestlie  they  craved  the  same,  alleaging  many  sundry  examples 
of  those  who  at  younger  yeares  had  inured  themselves  to  as  great  labours; 
as  Reynaldo  at  the  age  of  fifteene  yeares,  stealing  from  his  father's  Court, 
•went  into  Palestina  to  the  Christian  Armie,  where,  under  great  Godfry  of 
Bullen,  he  obtained  to  be  the  chiefe  scourge  of  the  Sarasins,  and  without 
whom  it  had  been  impossible  to  have  wonne  the  holy  Citty  of  Jerusalem." 

The  above  passage  occurs  near  the  end  of  Chapter  XX.,  which 
is  the  last  of  the  first  part  of  the  Romance.  The  author  elsewhere 
shows  that  he  had  some  acquaintance  with  Italian  literature  ; 
as  for  instance  where,  following  Dante,  he  observes,  "  in  misery 
there  is  no  greater  griefe  than  to  call  to  minde  forepassed  pleas 
ure."  (Inf.,  Canto  V.) 


lj  Citerature.  325 

EUPHUES  SHADOW.  —  Euphues  Shadow,  the  Battaile  of 
the  Sences.  Wherein  youthful  folly  is  set  downe  in  his 
right  figure,  and  vaine  fancies  are  proved  to  produce 
many  offences.  Hereunto  is  annexed  the  Deafe  mans 
Dialogue,  contayning  Philamis  and  Athanatos:  fit  for 
all  sortes  to  peruse,  and  the  better  sorte  to  practice.  By 
T.  L.  Gent.  —  London,  Printed  by  Abell  Jeffes,  for  John 
Busbie,  and  are  to  be  sould  at  his  Shop  in  Panics 
Churchyard,  neere  to  the  West  doore  of  Paules.  1592. 
4to.  B.  L.  50  leaves. 

It  seems  to  us  so  uncertain  whether  this  production  was  by 
Thomas  Lodge,  or  by  Robert  Greene,  that  we  have  preferred  to 
place  it  under  its  own  title.  Our  belief  is  that  it  was  by  Greene, 
but  that  his  own  name  having  been  so  often  before  the  public, 
and  Lodge  having,  precisely  at  this  period,  taken  a  long  voyage 
with  Cavendish  (or  Candish),  Greene,  for  the  sake  of  variety, 
thought  fit  to  publish  "  Euphues  Shadow  "  as  the  work  of  his 
poetical  contemporary.  It  is  in  all  respects  identical  with  the 
style  of  Greene  ;  and  if  Lodge  really  wrote  it,  it  was  an  inten 
tional  and  successful  imitation;  all  Greene's  peculiarities,  for 
which  in  or  before  1592  he  had  obtained  celebrity,  are  here  to  be 
abundantly  noted. 

In  his  dedication  to  Viscount  Fitzwaters,  Greene  tells  his 
patron  that  Lodge  had  left  this  tract  behind  him  for  publication  ; 
and  such  may  have  been  the  fact ;  but  he  at  the  same  time  in 
forms  the  "  Gentlemen  Readers,"  that  he  had  already  "  put  forth 
so  many  of  his  own  labours  "  that  they  might  be  weary  of  his 
name.  This  statement  tends  to  confirm  the  notion  that  he  resorted 
to  the  expedient  of  palming  "  Euphues  Shadow  "  upon  Lodge, 
who  was  absent  and  could  not  contradict  him ;  and  who,  if  he 
had  been  then  actually  resident  in  England,  would  not  have 
had  much  reason  to  complain  that  so  popular  an  author  as  Robert 
Greene  had  paid  him  the  compliment.  Until  some  further  evi 
dence  is  produced,  and  we  know  not  from  whence  it  is  to  come,  it 
must  remain  undecided  whether  the  tract  be  by  one  or  by  the 
other.  Greene  was  determined  that  his  instrumentality  in  the 


326  Stbliograpljkal  ^Uronnt  of 

matter,  whatever  his  share  may  have  been,  should  not  be  imputed 
to  any  other  person,  and  therefore  subscribed  the  dedication  with 
the  addition  of  the  county  from  which  he  was  known  to  have 
come  —  "  Rob.  Greene  Norfolciensis"  In  the  year  of  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  tract  under  consideration,  Greene  said  of  himself, 
"  I  neede  not  make  long  discourse  of  my  parentes,  who  for  their 
gravitie  and  honest  life  is  well  knowne  and  esteemed  amongst 
their  neighbors,  namely  in  the  Cittie  of  Norwich,  where  I  was  bred 
and  borne."  (Repentance,  1592.)  He  professed  to  Lord  Fitz- 
waters  that  Lodge,  "  in  his  last  letters,"  had  enjoined  him  to  print 
"  Euphues  Shadow " ;  but  it  is  more  than  doubtful  whether 
Lodge  did  write,  or  could  have  written,  to  Greene  in  the  interval 
since  his  sailing  with  Cavendish,  and  the  whole  affair  reads  more 
like  a  pretext  than  a  reality.  However,  in  our  day  it  is  a  matter 
of  little  consequence,  and  certain  it  is  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
production  itself  that  should  have  made  Lodge  very  anxious  to 
own  it.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  publication  were  a  failure, 
Greene  by  this  expedient  had  avoided  all  responsibility ;  and  the 
more  positive  he  represented  Lodge  in  his  directions  to  have 
"  Euphues  Shadow  "  printed,  the  more  Greene  shifted  any  weight 
from  his  own  shoulders. 

After  the  address  "  to  the  Gentlemen  Readers,"  the  story,  such 
as  it  is,  commences,  but  the  few  and  commonplace  incidents  are 
not  worth  detailing ;  and  the  language,  we  feel  assured,  was  the 
language  of  Greene,  with  precisely  his  thoughts,  his  images,  and 
his  modes  of  expression.  The  sort  of  epistle  from  "  Philautus  to 
his  sonnes  living  at  the  Court,"  with  which  the  piece  commences, 
is  exactly  like  Greene's  composition,  and  it  serves  to  introduce 
certainly  one  of  the  dullest  performances  of  the  period  :  as  if 
Greene,  having  written  it,  was  unwilling  to  avow  it,  while  his 
necessities  drove  him  to  the  sale  of  it,  not  under  his  own  name, 
but  under  that  of  a  poet  with  whom  he  was  known  to  have  been 
acquainted.  The  artificial  style  in  which  this  and  other  pieces  of 
the  kind  were  composed  was  excellently  ridiculed  at  this  date  by 
R.  W.,  in  his  "  Martin-Marsixtus,"  1592,  where  he  exclaims, — 

"  Fie  upon  this  wit!  thus  affecting  to  be  famous  they  become  notorious 
*  *  *  and  when  with  shame  they  see  their  follie,  they  are  faine  to  put  on 


(Sarlg  <£ngltsl)  Citerature.  327 

a  Mourning  Garment  and  crie  Farewell.  If  any  man  be  of  a  dainty  and 
curious  eare,  I  shall  desire  him  to  repayre  to  those  authors :  every  man 
hath  not  a  pearle-mint,  a  fish-mint,  nor  a  bird-mint  in  his  braine:  all  are 
not  licensed  to  create  new  stones,  new  fowles,  new  serpents,  and  to  coyne 
new  creatures." 

Here  we  see  Greene's  "  Mourning  Garment,"  1590,  and  his 
"  Farewell  to  Folly,"  1591,  distinctly  mentioned  ;  but  it  was  not 
in  those,  so  much  as  in  others,  that  he  resorted  to  his  invention, 
and,  for  the  sake  of  apt  similes,  imputed  to  pearls,  fishes,  birds, 
and  beasts,  properties  which  they  did  not  possess. 

Three  small  productions  in  rhyme  are  interspersed,  but  of  as 
little  merit  as  the  prose ;  and  it  is  evident  that  the  whole  was  put 
together  under  that  sort  of  pecuniary  pressure  to  which  Greene 
and  his  associates  were  constantly  exposed.  The  lines  run 
smoothly  enough,  as  if  by  a  practised  versifier  ;  but  though  words 
are  abundant,  thoughts  are  deficient ;  and  the  following  is  the 
only  specimen  at  all  worth  quoting ;  it  is  headed,— 

"THE  EPITAPH  OF  EURIMONE. 

"  Heere  lies  ingravde,  in  prime  of  tender  age, 

Eurimone,  too  pearlesse  in  disdaine ; 
Whose  proud  contempt  no  reason  might  asswage, 

Till  Love,  to  quite  all  wronged  lovers  paine, 
Bereft  her  wits,  when  as  her  friend  was  gone, 
Who  now  lyes  tombed  in  this  marble  stone. 

"  Let  Ladies  learne  her  lewdnes  to  eschew, 

And  whilst  they  live  in  freedome  of  delight, 
To  take  remorse,  and  lovers  sorrowes  rew, 

For  why  contempt  is  answered  with  dispight: 
Remembering  still  this  sentence  sage  and  ould, 
Who  will  not  yonge,  they  may  not  when  they  would." 
We  have  seldom  read  a  more  disappointing  production,  con 
sidering  that  two  such  names  as  Greene  and  Lodge  were  con 
nected  with  it.     It  is,  we  think,  unworthy  of  either,  and  we  notice 
it  chiefly  on  account  of  its  extreme  rarity.    Only  two  copies  (one 
of  them  imperfect)  have  been  preserved.     It  was  Nash's  opinion 
(expressed  in  his  "  Strange  Newes,"  1593,  sign.  L  4)  that  Greene 
"  came  oftener  in  print  than  men  of  judgment  allowed  of";  and  it 
was  some  feeling  of  this  kind  that  perhaps  induced  Greene  to 
father  "  Euphues  Shadow  "  upon  Lodge  :  still,  it  may  have  been 
Lodge's  production  after  all. 


iate  recall. 


5    1963 


" 


•1PM  *  8 


MAR  0  1 


.  General  Lib 


